Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destination Contract (CLDC) Request for Proposal
Open Solicitation Posted
- Solicitation number
- 80JSC027R0004
- Agency
- Johnson Space Center National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- NAICS code
- 336414 Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing
- Place of performance
- Houston, Texas, United States
- Points of contact
-
- Matthew Windemuth jsc-cldc@mail.nasa.gov
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
NASA Johnson Space Center seeks proposals for the Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destination Contract (CLDC), a firm-fixed-price Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity multiple-award vehicle to design, build, and operate a commercially owned and operated LEO destination providing crew and cargo services as a successor to the International Space Station, with proposals due December 8, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. Central Time and questions due October 21, 2026.
The procurement is unrestricted (no set-aside). NAICS code 336414 applies (Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing); small business size standard is 1,300 employees. Place of performance is primarily at contractor facilities, though some work may occur at NASA centers (Houston, Texas) through Government Collaboration Agreements or Government Task Agreements. The contract carries a guaranteed minimum of $100 million and a not-to-exceed ceiling of $34.063 billion across a base ordering period of 8 years from contract effective date (anticipated award April 15, 2027), with two optional extensions (4 years and 3 years respectively, totaling 15 years potential).
The contract comprises five contract line items: CLIN 1 (Initial Development), CLIN 2 (CLDS Development & Certification), CLIN 3 (Mission Services including Service Missions A, B, and Standard Service with pricing for 2–4 crew configurations through 2042), CLIN 4 (Pre-Priced Additional Services including crew accommodations, payload lockers, and transportation), and CLIN 5 (Special Studies using fully-burdened composite labor rates).
Contractor personnel must obtain a Top Secret facility security clearance and comply with 32 CFR Part 117 and NASA security procedures. Classified information access occurs only at NASA/JSC; classified material cannot be stored at the contractor facility. Contractors may require access to Communications Security, Sensitive Compartmented Information, non-SCI National Intelligence Information, Controlled Unclassified Information, and must comply with Operations Security requirements. Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management planning per NIST SP 800-161 is required; contractors may submit either a compliant C-SCRM plan or complete a questionnaire.
Work encompasses design, manufacturing, activation, checkout, assembly, outfitting, qualification, production, transportation vehicles, cargo and crew operational missions, and post-certification utilization. The contractor must support a minimum crew of four (including at least two USG crew) for Standard Service Missions and meet three capability categories: Category 1 (1-month crew-tended), Category 2 (6-month continuous crew), and Category 3 (6-month standard service). SAE AS9100 certification is required. NASA provides up to twenty personnel for collaboration at no cost (ten general and ten designated expertise areas: ECLSS, exercise systems, rendezvous/docking, power/propulsion, flight software).
Volume III (Past Performance) is due November 24, 2026 (two weeks early); full proposals are due December 8, 2026. A virtual pre-proposal conference is scheduled October 15, 2026; in-person one-on-one meetings for Destination Prime Offerors are October 16, 2026. Questions must use the RFP submission template and be sent to Ashley Chaves, Contracting Officer, at jsc-cldc@mail.nasa.gov. Proposals must be submitted electronically via NASA's Enterprise File Sharing and Sync Box; Price Volume exhibits must use Microsoft Office Excel format with working cell formulas. The contract is rated as a Defense Priorities and Allocations System order with DO-C9 rating.
Notice text
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC) is issuing a Final Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destination Contract (CLDC), 80JSC027R0004. You are notified of the following:
- The entire proposal is due by December 8, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. Central Time. Proposal Volume III, Past Performance is requested two (2) weeks early on November 24, 2026, but not officially due until the proposal submittal date.
- All questions regarding this RFP should be submitted in writing, electronically to Ashley Chaves, Contracting Officer, at jsc-cldc@mail.nasa.gov on or before 1:00 p.m. Central Time on October 21, 2026. Offerors are encouraged to submit questions as soon as possible for consideration. Questions shall be submitted using the Template for Submission of Comments in the “Attachments” section below. Telephone questions will not be accepted.
- The RFP and attachments have been posted in the "Attachments" section below. This RFP and associated documents supersede the Draft RFP in its entirety. Any additional documents will be available on www.sam.gov.
- The Technical Library is available on www.sam.gov under notice ID 80JSC025_CLDC_TECH_LIBRARY.
- If you have not accessed the Technical Library before, please complete the Technical Library Request Form and refer to the instructions under notice ID 80JSC025_CLDC_TECH_LIBRARY prior to submitting a request via www.sam.gov.
- The Pre-Proposal Conference for this solicitation is anticipated to be held (virtual only) via Microsoft Teams on Thursday, October 15, 2026, starting at 1:00 p.m. Central Time. Attendance at the pre-proposal conference is recommended; however, attendance is neither required nor a prerequisite for proposal submission. No recordings or use of Super Intelligence (SI) note-taking capabilities of any kind are permitted. Participation is limited to a total of ten (10) individuals from each company/team.
Please RSVP for the Pre-Proposal Conference and One-on-Ones by Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 1:00 p.m. Central Time by sending an email to the following addresses:
Name: Ashley Chaves
Email: jsc-cldc@mail.nasa.gov
The RSVP email for the Pre-Proposal Conference must include the following:
Subject Line: 80JSC027R0004 Pre-Proposal RSVP
- Full company name
- Company address
- SAM Unique Entity ID and Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code
- Company point of contact name, phone number, and email address
- Company size/type (e.g., Large Business, Small Business, Women-Owned Small Business, etc.)
- Names, position descriptions, and email addresses of attendees (no more than ten (10) individuals may represent any party or team of parties)
The Pre-Proposal Conference One-on-Ones will be scheduled upon request and will be held in-person with a hybrid option at the Gilruth Center on October 16, 2026. One-on-Ones will be limited to Destination Prime Offerors. To request a One-on-One please send an email to the Contracting Officer, Ashley Chaves, at jsc-cldc@mail.nasa.gov.
The RSVP email for the Pre-Proposal One-on-One must include the following:
Subject Line: 80JSC027R0004 Pre-Proposal One-on-One RSVP
- Full company name
- Company address
- SAM Unique Entity ID and Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code
- Company point of contact name, phone number, and email address
- Company size/type (e.g., Large Business, Small Business, Women-Owned Small Business, etc.)
- Names, position descriptions, and email addresses of attendees (no more than eight (8) individuals may represent any party or team of parties)
- Preference on in-person, virtual, or hybrid attendance for One-on-One and identify which individuals will be attending in-person or virtually.
A confirmation email will be sent to acknowledge your reservation(s) and provide further instructions.
NASA anticipates releasing the Pre-Proposal Conference charts prior to the Pre-Proposal Conference. Please continue to monitor this SAM.gov posting for updates on the release of any documents, as well as the CLDC website.
NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Ombudsman for this acquisition is Donna M. Shafer, donna.m.shafer@nasa.gov, 281-483-4258.
It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor this website for amendments to this solicitation and other information. Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments.
Prospective offerors are encouraged to notify the Contracting Officer of their intent to submit an offer.
Attachments
Show all 19
Notice history
| Notice | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destination Contract (CLDC) Request for Proposal | Solicitation | |
| Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destination Contract (CLDC) Request for Proposal | Pre-Solicitation | |
| Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destination Contract (CLDC) Draft Request for Proposal | Pre-Solicitation | |
| Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destination Contract (CLDC) Technical Library | Special Notice |
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