Near Space Network Services - Contract Award (Subcat 2. 2 GEO to Cislunar Relay Services))
This Award Notice is for the Near Space Network (NSN) Services contract, Subcategory 2.2 "GEO to CIS Lunar Relay," awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Center. The contract, valued at $4,820,000,000, was awarded to Intuitive Machines LLC on September 23, 2024. The NSN Services contract provides communication and navigation services for missions in the Near Space region up to 2 million kilometers from Earth, including both Direct-to-Earth and Space Relay services.
80GSFC24CA018 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Center
10/17/24, 1:07 PM Near Space Network Services - Final RFP
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is seeking a contractor to provide communication and navigation services for missions in the Near Space region, extending from Earth's surface to 2 million kilometers. The solicitation is divided into two distinct categories: Category 1 covers Direct-to-Earth communication and navigation services, while Category 2 focuses on Space Relay communication and navigation services. The primary objective is to foster commercialization of the Near Space region by increasing private sector participation, with a specific emphasis on supporting NASA's Artemis program's lunar communications and navigation needs. The final Request for Proposal (RFP) was posted on February 21, 2023, with proposals due by April 10, 2023. Prospective offerors will be evaluated based on their technical capabilities, past performance, and ability to meet the complex communication and navigation requirements for space missions within the specified near-space range.
The solicitation is not set aside for any specific small business category, indicating full and open competition. While specific award values are not explicitly stated in the notice, the contract appears to be an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) format with potential for significant investment in space communication infrastructure. The place of performance is not geographically limited, reflecting the global and space-based nature of the required services. The contract will support NASA and potentially other federal agencies, with services spanning missions, spacecraft, and payloads operating up to 2 million kilometers from Earth. Multiple amendments have been issued to the solicitation, including updates to technical requirements and clarifications, suggesting a dynamic and complex procurement process that requires careful attention from potential offerors.
80GSFC22R0029 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Center
2/21/23, 3:31 PM Near Space Network (NSN) Services
You are invited to review and comment on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center’s (GSFC) NSN Services solicitation. The NSN Services contract will provide for acquisition of Communications and Navigation services to support multiple customer missions across the full Near Space Network portfolio to include Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), Geostationary Orbit (GEO), and Lunar orbital regimes. The objective is to foster the commercialization of the Near-Space region through increased private sector participation in providing communications and navigation services in the Near Space region. The Statement of Work, Attachment A, describes the scope of the requirement.
The award of NSN Services contracts will be based on the offeror’s ability to meet the specific technical acceptability standards set forth in this DRFP. Technical Acceptability is the most important factor and will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis. Proposals that fail to meet any of the technical acceptability standards identified in Section L of the RFP will be considered “Unacceptable” and will not be eligible for contract award (see DRFP provision “M.4 TECHNICAL ACCEPTABILITY STANDARDS EVALUATION FACTOR” for details on “Potentially Acceptable” proposals). For those offerors who meet all the technical acceptability standards, Past Performance and Price will be evaluated. Past Performance will be evaluated on a Level of Confidence basis. A price analysis will be conducted in accordance with FAR 15.305(a)(1) to ensure that a "fair and reasonable" price is paid by the Government. The proposed price will be evaluated at the master IDIQ contract level to determine reasonableness both from the perspective of a firm fixed-price validation effort and for a not-to-exceed price per minute of operational communications services. Past Performance is approximately equal in importance to Price for evaluation purposes.
Potential offerors are encouraged to comment on all aspects of the draft solicitation, including the requirements, schedules, proposal instructions, and evaluation approaches, any perceived safety, occupational health, security (including information technology security), environmental, export control, and/or other programmatic risk issues associated with performance of the work. Potential offerors should identify any unnecessary or inefficient requirements, and are also encouraged to comment on the DRFP CLIN structure, any unique terms and conditions, the clarity of the Representative Task Order (RTO) requirements and their ability to effectively price each RTO, and the Section M Evaluation Criteria.
Any comments regarding the DRFP should be submitted electronically in writing, to Sang Lee, Contracting Officer, at Sang.H.Lee@nasa.gov, within 30, calendar days after the release of this DRFP. Industry questions that may potentially be addressed at the NSN Industry Day will need to be submitted to the Contracting Officer NLT July 20, 2022. If a respondent believes their comments contain confidential, proprietary, competition sensitive, or business information, those questions/comments shall be marked appropriately. However, questions that are marked as containing confidential, proprietary, competition sensitive or business information will not be provided a Government response. The Government will consider all comments received in preparation of the Final RFP. To the extent a comment leads the Government to revise the acquisition approach or requirements, the change will be reflected in the Final RFP. Some DRFP questions and comments may receive a posted response to the GPE if the Contracting Officer determines that a response would facilitate additional understanding of the solicitation. The Government may also respond via the GPE to comments and/or questions received following the issuance of the Final Request for Proposal (RFP).
80GSFC22R0029-dRFP National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Center
6/29/22, 1:10 PM Near Space Network Services - Contract Award (Intuitive Machines, LLC)
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Center has awarded a contract (80GSFC25CA007) to Intuitive Machines, LLC for Near Space Network (NSN) Services, specifically covering Subcategories 1.2 GEO to Cislunar Direct to Earth (DTE) and 1.3 xCislunar DTE communication and navigation services. The contract, valued at $4,820,000,000, was awarded on February 1, 2025, and will provide communication services for missions ranging from Earth's surface to 2 million kilometers. Following a comprehensive evaluation process that considered technical capabilities, past performance, and pricing, Intuitive Machines was selected alongside Kongsberg Satellite Services AS for Subcategory 1.2 and SSC Space US Inc. for Subcategory 1.3, with both companies receiving "Acceptable" technical ratings and demonstrating competitive pricing and capabilities.
80GSFC25CA007 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Center
1/15/25, 2:13 PM Near Space Network Services - Contract Award (Viasat, Inc. )
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Center has awarded a contract to Viasat, Inc. for Near Space Network (NSN) Services, Subcategory 1.1 Earth Proximity Direct to Earth (DTE) communications and navigation services. The contract, numbered 80GSFC25CA030, is valued at $4,820,000,000 and was awarded on February 1, 2025, following a competitive solicitation process. NASA selected three contractors (Viasat, Kongsberg Satellite Services AS, and SSC Space US) after evaluating proposals based on technical acceptability, past performance, and pricing, with all three companies receiving "Acceptable" technical ratings and confidence ratings ranging from "High" to "Very High". The contract covers services for missions in the Near Space region, defined as the area from the Earth's surface to 2 million kilometers, using Firm Fixed Price, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract vehicles.
80GSFC25CA030 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Center
1/15/25, 1:47 PM