WASHINGTON — As NASA prepares for the first integrated flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft to the moon this summer, the agency is moving toward a services contract model for long-term SLS hardware production and operations to reduce costs.
“SLS is not just a NASA investment, it has been a national investment. Through this contract approach, we are working to enable the use of this one-of-a-kind heavy lift capability to other customers,” said Kathy Lueders, associate administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This approach will also allow NASA to streamline SLS production and operations under one contract, creating a more affordable and sustainable exploration framework for decades to come.”
In a pre-solicitation notice for the Exploration Production and Operations Contract published Tuesday, NASA is proposing to transfer SLS production and associated testing, manufacturing, and transportation facilities from multiple existing hardware procurement contracts to a single contract with Deep Space Transport. An award is anticipated by Dec. 31, 2023.
The contractor would be responsible for producing hardware and services for up to 10 Artemis launches beginning with Artemis V; and up to 10 launches for other NASA missions. NASA expects to procure at least one flight per year to the moon or other deep-space destinations.
“We have a big job ahead of us to fly the first four Artemis missions and develop the new exploration upper stage,” said Jody Singer, director of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. “While NASA transitions the contracting approach for long-term SLS operations, the talented team that brought the rocket to the launchpad will also be needed for other projects necessary for the agency’s exploration missions.”
With Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface and establish long-term exploration in preparation for missions to Mars.
