Under this announcement, NASA is soliciting proposals from U.S. Space industry participants to further advance commercial crew transportation system (CTS) concepts and mature the design and…

Under this announcement, NASA is soliciting proposals from U.S. Space industry participants to further advance commercial crew transportation system (CTS) concepts and mature the design and development of elements of the system such as launch vehicles and spacecraft. The agreements are expected to result in significant maturation of commercial CTS capabilities with consideration given to NASA s draft human certification requirements and standards or industry equivalent to those requirements and standards. This activity is referred to as commercial crew development round 2, or ccdev 2. Selected ccdev 2 participants will receive funded space act agreements (saas) under NASA s other transactions authority within the national aeronautics and space act, 42 U.S.C. 2451 ET SEQ. NASA intends to select a portfolio of multiple ccdev 2 saas that best meet the ccdev 2 goals and objectives within the available funding. Payments will be made upon the successful completion of performance milestones negotiated with NASA. NASA s contribution will be a fixed amount. 2.1 project schedule NASA and its ccdev 2 partners will begin the project upon execution of the ccdev 2 saas which is targeted for april 2011. The participant s ccdev 2 milestones should plan to be concluded no later than may 2012. The ccdev 2 competition schedule milestones are posted on the following ccdev 2 website: http://procurement.JSC.NASA.GOV/CCDEV2/. Participants are encouraged to refer regularly to this site for updates to the schedule and other current news and information. 2. Commercial crew development goals in order to open up the design trade space and encourage innovations and efficiencies in system design solutions, NASA is not dictating specific system concepts or elements. Each participant must determine the system requirements and concepts that best serves its target markets. The goals of ccdev 2 investments are to advance orbital commercial CTS concepts and enable significant progress on maturing the design and development of elements of the system, such as launch vehicles and spacecraft, while ensuring crew and passenger safety, with the overall objective of accelerating the availability of U.S. CTS capabilities. For ccdev 2, efforts to mature the design and development of lower level subsystems or components will be considered if shown to accelerate the availability of an identified element of a CTS concept. For example, work on items such as life support systems, launch abort systems, or rendezvous sensors would meet the goals of this announcement if shown to accelerate the development of a participant or team member s proposed spacecraft. Another example would be work on items such as emergency detection systems, main engines, or propellants would meet the goals of this announcement if shown to accelerate the development of a participant or team member s proposed launch vehicle. Proposals to work on stand-alone lower level subsystems or components would not meet the goals of this announcement.