NASA Selects Commercial Space Partners for Collaborative Partnerships

[Chris Bergin]

If we already have a thread on this, let me know and I'll merge.

    
December 23, 2014
NASA Selects Commercial Space Partners for Collaborative Partnerships

NASA announced Tuesday the selection of four U.S. companies to collaborate with NASA through unfunded partnerships to develop new space capabilities available to the government and other customers. The partnerships build on the success of NASA's commercial spaceflight initiatives to leverage NASA experience and expertise into new capabilities.

The Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities (CCSC) initiative is designed to advance private sector development of integrated space capabilities through access to NASA’s spaceflight resources and ensure emerging products or services are commercially available to government and non-government customers within approximately the next five years.

The companies selected for the Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities and their projects are:

    ATK Space Systems, in Beltsville, Maryland, is developing space logistics, hosted payload and other space transportation capabilities.
    Final Frontier Design, in Brooklyn, New York, is developing intra-vehicular activity space suits.
    Space Exploration Technologies, in Hawthorne, California, is developing space transportation capabilities that could be used to support missions into deep space.
    United Launch Alliance, in Centennial, Colorado, is developing new launch vehicle capabilities to reduce cost and enhance performance.

“Companies in all shapes and sizes are investing their own capital toward innovative commercial space capabilities,” said Phil McAlister, director of commercial spaceflight development at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "These awards demonstrate the diversity and maturity of the commercial space industry. We look forward to working with these partners to advance space capabilities and make them available to NASA and other customers in the coming years.”

The Space Act Agreements (SAAs) have no exchange of funds, and each party bears the cost of its participation. NASA's contributions could include technical expertise, assessments, lessons learned, technologies and data. Sharing this existing expertise in a structured way requires minimal government resources while fostering the development of technologies to enable NASA to achieve its strategic goal to expand human exploration of the solar system and to advance exploration, science, innovation, benefits to humanity, and international collaboration.

These collaborations are one of several NASA partnership initiatives with the commercial space industry. Others include the Lunar CATALYST initiative, which selected three companies for commercial robotic lunar lander capabilities, and the Asteroid Redirect Mission Broad Agency Announcement, which selected 18 proposals for studies related to NASA's plan to collect and redirect an asteroid, then send astronauts to collect samples.

These initiatives build on the successful legacy of NASA's current and previous commercial space activities, including the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) initiative. Through COTS, two U.S. companies developed new rockets and spacecraft capable of providing cargo resupply services to the International Space Station. Similar initiatives are underway with commercial partners to develop human transportation capabilities for crewed flights this decade. On Sept. 16, NASA announced contracts with Boeing and SpaceX to develop and certify crew transportation systems that will carry astronauts from the United States to the space station and back on American spacecraft.

As NASA works with U.S. industry to develop the next generation of U.S. spaceflight services to low-Earth orbit, the agency also is developing the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS), a crew capsule and heavy-lift rocket to provide an entirely new capability for human exploration. Designed to be flexible for launching spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, SLS and Orion will expand human presence beyond low-Earth orbit and enable new missions of exploration across the solar system, including to a near-Earth asteroid and Mars.

For more information about NASA initiatives and commercial space, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/commercial

For more information about the CSCC solicitation, which was released March 31, visit:

http://procurement.jsc.nasa.gov/ccsc

For more information about the Lunar CATALYST initiative, go to:

http://go.nasa.gov/1Gv76kv

For more information about the 18 selected proposals for studies under the Asteroid Redirect Mission Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), go to:

http://go.nasa.gov/1sr6sRn

[Chris Bergin]

News Releases
ATK and NASA Announce Satellite Servicing Partnership
Dec 23, 2014

Arlington, Va. – ATK (NYSE: ATK) and NASA have announced an agreement to support near-term core technologies for Satellite Life Extension, Robotic Satellite Repair, and Satellite Refueling.

The unfunded Space Act Agreement (SAA) is through NASA’s Commercial Space Capabilities Office (CCSC) at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The agreement allows the ATK Space Systems Division and NASA to collaborate on technologies and new product development that meet the needs of the emerging satellite servicing and space logistics industry.

ATK’s Space Systems Division, a division of the company’s Aerospace Group in Beltsville, Maryland, provides a broad portfolio of products and services that include manned and robotic satellite servicing capabilities and integrated small satellite systems, engineering services and integrated thermal control technology.

ATK has a long history of success in satellite servicing, spanning both military and civil sectors that include the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope repair missions and the ongoing NASA Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) at the International Space Station.

A centerpiece of ATK’s satellite servicing efforts is ViviSat, a joint venture of ATK and U.S. Space, LLC. ViviSat provides in-orbit satellite life extension services using the ATK designed Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) which will dock with existing satellites and act as the propulsion and attitude control to extend its life. The MEV also provides substantial hosted payload capability to supplement its life extension service. The U.S. Air Force recently recognized that capability with a contract award to ViviSat for hosted payload assistance on missions and studies.

“The SAA agreement allows ATK and NASA to develop solutions that support NASA’s 2014 Strategic Plan to advance commercial space efforts in robotic satellite repair and satellite refueling,” said Tom Wilson, vice president and general manager of ATK’s Space Systems Division. “By sharing these innovative commercial space capabilities, we will strengthen our existing partnership with NASA and expand the satellite servicing market for government and commercial missions.”

The agreement defines principle milestones on ATK’s scheduled satellite servicing activities and allows NASA to offer assistance and feedback on key developments. By leveraging NASA expertise on robotic satellite repair, ATK will continue to enhance its innovative satellite servicing programs for government and commercial space customers.

ATK is an aerospace, defense, and outdoor sports and recreation company with operations in 21 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally. News and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/atk, or on Twitter @ATK.

[mr. mark]

NASA has chosen SpaceX today as a contributor to develop deep space transportation needs.
http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/december/nasa-selects-commercial-space-partners-for-collaborative-partnerships/#.VJnYtsAAA

[mfck]

"... Space Exploration Technologies, in Hawthorne, California, is developing space transportation capabilities that could be used to support missions into deep space."

I wonder if this is propulsion or something else. What would that something be?

[RonM]

The companies selected for the Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities and their projects are:

    ATK Space Systems, in Beltsville, Maryland, is developing space logistics, hosted payload and other space transportation capabilities.
    Final Frontier Design, in Brooklyn, New York, is developing intra-vehicular activity space suits.
    Space Exploration Technologies, in Hawthorne, California, is developing space transportation capabilities that could be used to support missions into deep space.
    United Launch Alliance, in Centennial, Colorado, is developing new launch vehicle capabilities to reduce cost and enhance performance.

We got the press release from ATK, but does anyone have details on what FFD, SpaceX, and ULA will be doing?

[fast]

And what this could be?
 "....United Launch Alliance, in Centennial, Colorado, is developing new launch vehicle capabilities to reduce cost and enhance performance."

[mme]

Interesting!

Space Exploration Technologies, in Hawthorne, California, is developing space transportation capabilities that could be used to support missions into deep space.

I wonder if this relates to FH, BFR, or MCT?  The other companies' projects look interesting too, but I guess those are best discussed elsewhere.

The Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities (CCSC) initiative is designed to advance private sector development of integrated space capabilities through access to NASA’s spaceflight resources and ensure emerging products or services are commercially available to government and non-government customers within approximately the next five years.

I really like that NASA has these unfunded initiatives to share knowledge.  I know it's part of their mission, but I don't think it gets the public attention that it deserves and it bugs me that NASA seems so under appreciated for their achievements (and blamed for the actions of the Congress that the public elects.)

[mme]

And what this could be?
 "....United Launch Alliance, in Centennial, Colorado, is developing new launch vehicle capabilities to reduce cost and enhance performance."

I don't know, but I think Jim's been pointing out that more is going on than we know about.

[sdsds]

space transportation capabilities that could be used to support missions into deep space

Strange phrasing. It would potentially cover e.g. LEO rendezvous prior to deep space departure. My hope would be LO2/LCH4 depot and Earth-orbit departure stage technologies.

[gongora]

This really doesn't sound like a big deal, they are unfunded agreements for things all of these companies were already working on, just knowledge sharing.

[yg1968]

I don't know for sure but I am guessing that his has to do with the Bigelow Report. In the report, SpaceX had proposed its FH and an enhanced Dragon for cislunar space missions.

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/02/affordable-habitats-more-buck-rogers-less-money-bigelow/

The documentation envisions a taxi seat to a lunar orbiting BA 330-DS would be offered by SpaceX via a crewed version of Dragon and Falcon Heavy.

[LastStarFighter]

NASA has chosen SpaceX today as a contributor to develop deep space transportation needs.
http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/december/nasa-selects-commercial-space-partners-for-collaborative-partnerships/#.VJnYtsAAA

Kind of a misnomer... Sounds the same as all of the unfunded partnerships they have announced in the past... NASA shares data, knowledge and access to facilities in hopes that companies will do something with it. Not really an "award" for something. Just companies asking for free assistance.

[yg1968]

NASA has chosen SpaceX today as a contributor to develop deep space transportation needs.
http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/december/nasa-selects-commercial-space-partners-for-collaborative-partnerships/#.VJnYtsAAA

Kind of a misnomer... Sounds the same as all of the unfunded partnerships they have announced in the past... NASA shares data, knowledge and access to facilities in hopes that companies will do something with it. Not really an "award" for something. Just companies asking for free assistance.

I think that this is different in the sense that NASA is trying to acquire a capability for a need that it has for BEO exploration. I am guessing that NASA is interested in cargo capability for BEO exploration. So NASA is hoping to get something out of this partnership.

[baldusi]

Well, I would speculate that this SSA allow NASA to have a much deeper understanding of the near-future commercial capabilities. I would expect a couple of proposals for missions based on this knowledge in about two years time.

[savuporo]

what "NASA gets out of these partnerships" is a more capable aerospace industrial base, which IMHO is sorely needed.
This is exactly NASA acting as NACA, the more the better.

[nadreck]

What NASA and the companies get is more about what NASA might specify and what the companies could provide. In otherwords, if NASA were to say "hey, let's go to Mars" then the companies that have sat down and helped develop the specifications for a habitat, a rover, a lander, a TMI propulsion system etc through design modelling and maybe even some specific directed tests in the lab, would be in a position to quote on it in a way NASA would be prepared to evaluate favorably.

And NASA can't just say "hey, let's go to Mars" they actually have to say, please quote me on providing the following systems and subsystems needed for a mars flight, this lets NASA work on their shopping list in a realistic way.

[su27k]

This really doesn't sound like a big deal, they are unfunded agreements for things all of these companies were already working on, just knowledge sharing.

I think this is the first time we have independent confirmation that SpaceX is working on BLEO capability? This in itself is significant, since there're people who believe SpaceX will stay in LEO for the foreseeable future.

[whitelancer64]

my gut instinct (wishful thinking?) is that it's probably related to the proposed Red Dragon mission that's been kicking around for a few years, though the description given by NASA could be about anything. some quick googling did not find the texts of any of the proposals that were submitted to NASA.

hopefully we'll get some more details soon.

[TrevorMonty]

And what this could be?
 "....United Launch Alliance, in Centennial, Colorado, is developing new launch vehicle capabilities to reduce cost and enhance performance."

This may just be NASA having its input into ULA NLV design.

[Vultur]

And what this could be?
 "....United Launch Alliance, in Centennial, Colorado, is developing new launch vehicle capabilities to reduce cost and enhance performance."

This may just be NASA having its input into ULA NLV design.

Yeah, I'd expect that this is the ULA/BE-4 thing just by Occam's Razor...

[docmordrid]

Then why is SpaceX involved?

Sounds more general to me, with 2 transport providers for redundancy.

[oldAtlas_Eguy]

I still think it is for both SpaceX and ULA access to Methane engine and tank technology that is in NASA possession.

Other useful data on Methane is lessons learned and things and errors in design to avoid.

[yg1968]

Here is the selection statement for these unfunded agreements:
http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/CCSC_Selection_Statement.pdf

Here is an article which discusses the selection statement:
http://spacenews.com/new-nasa-pacts-look-to-rush-commercial-space-tech-to-shelves/

Here is a pre-proposal presentation on the Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities:
https://prod.nais.nasa.gov/eps/eps_data/156859-OTHER-004-001.pdf

http://procurement.jsc.nasa.gov/ccsc/

[yg1968]

There is slightly more detail on the proposals in slide 4 of this presentation:
http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/NAC_HEO_Gerst4final-1.pdf

ATK
-Development of space logistics, hosted payload, and other space transportation capabilities.

Final Frontier Design
–  Development of intra-vehicular activity space suits for high altitude and space flight.

SpaceX
–  Development of space transportation capabilities to and from deep space for unmanned and ultimately crew missions.

ULA
–  Development of launch vehicle technologies that enable new capabilities while substantially reducing costs.

[Mariusuiram]

Surprised I missed this earlier. As people have said, its just about sharing resources, but it also makes a lot of sense.

For SpaceX, they have said they are designing a mission architecture along with the BFR and MCT to reach Mars (and bring the MCT back to LEO). This SAA allows SpaceX to share these concepts with NASA so it can provide support or potentially technologies that could be useful. Most importantly, IMHO, it means NASA is aware of the designs and capabilities for mission planning while SpaceX becomes aware of required capabilities for future NASA missions.

SpaceX will want additional business for any new rocket (including FH) and understanding requirements to win additional launches from NASA or impact the way they plan future missions is hugely important.

The dream would be that with some advanced knowledge of these new systems & their costs, NASA can close the case for science missions that were too expensive before. Not just from reduced launch costs, but if they reduce weight constraints enough to allow lower costs of production or reduced transit times (kind of like the discussion around Europa Clipper and SLS).

[Robotbeat]

Given the scale of SpaceX's ambitions, I think (if BFR or MCT ever come to fruition) that it will be the other way around: SpaceX's capabilities will drive NASA's Mars architectures (as well, I'm sure, as other companies driving some of the approaches of exploring asteroids or the Moon). NASA simply doesn't have the funding to reproduce an entire Mars architecture if SpaceX already has one, and neither should they (if BFR/MCT ever come to fruition). Just buy a ticket, send up some cargo and astronauts.

And again, the same applies to other companies and destinations. If things do actually work out, NASA will be able to spend a fairly small amount of money to do Mars exploration and thus could even focus on some lunar and asteroid missions.

Big if, there, but honestly it seems more likely than going to Mars with SLS/Orion.