Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Development Program Phase 2 Directive Clarifications

Background:

As NASA plans for the retirement of the International Space Station at the end of the decade, the ability of private industry to take on the task of providing routine utilization of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) and maintaining a continuous U.S. presence in space is of vital importance to both NASA and U.S. goals.

In a multiphase strategy, the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center’s (JSC) Commercial LEO Development Program (CLDP) is helping to spur the development of new LEO destinations and supporting systems from private industry.

CLDP’s Revised Phase 2 Strategy - Directive Clarifications:

CLDP is providing an industry update as NASA has determined that, rather than moving forward at this time with a firm fixed price contract for certification and services, NASA will continue to support U.S. industry’s design and demonstration of Commercial LEO Destinations (CLDs) with funded Space Act Agreements (SAAs) for the next phase. NASA remains committed to enabling sustainable development of commercially owned and operated LEO destinations under the National Aeronautics and Space Act (Space Act), 51 U.S.C. §§ 20101-20164. Therefore, the attached presentation slides are provided to communicate the revised CLD’s Phase 2 strategy. See attached file: Commercial LEO Directive Clarifications 08142025.pdf.

The following link provides access to additional information regarding the SAA strategy and competition process:

Commercial Destinations - Development and Demonstration Objectives (C3DO) Space Act Agreement (SAA) Website (https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/jsc-procurement/c3do)

No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of a solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on www.sam.gov. It is each interested party’s responsibility to monitor the www.sam.gov website for the release of any subsequent solicitation or synopsis.