WASHINGTON - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is seeking industry comment on a draft solicitation for its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destination Contract (CLDC), a major acquisition effort intended to support continued U.S. human presence in space after the International Space Station is retired.

The draft request for proposal (DRFP), issued by NASA’s Johnson Space Center, outlines plans to procure end-to-end services from commercially owned and operated low Earth orbit destinations. These platforms are intended to provide crewed and cargo transportation services as well as research capabilities, enabling sustained human activity in orbit for science and exploration missions.

Under the draft acquisition strategy, selected contractor(s) would be responsible for designing, developing, building, certifying, and operating a commercial LEO destination. The scope includes spacecraft and station systems, manufacturing, testing, qualification, transportation systems for crew and cargo, mission operations, and post-certification utilization activities.

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NASA said it intends to use Government Collaboration Agreements (GCAs) to provide selected contractors access to NASA personnel and expertise during development, leveraging government technical knowledge alongside commercial development efforts.

The CLDC will be competed under full and open competition and structured as a multi-award Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. Task orders will be Firm-Fixed-Price. NASA plans an eight-year ordering period with four optional extensions, totaling up to 15 years.

The final RFP is scheduled for release in late August 2026, with proposals due approximately 60 days later. NASA anticipates awarding contracts in early spring 2027, with the effective date occurring on the same day as the award.

Feedback requested

The agency is requesting industry feedback on all aspects of the DRFP, including proposal instructions, evaluation criteria, pricing structure, and contract line-item structure. NASA is also seeking input on technical requirements, safety and security considerations, export control risks, and organizational conflicts of interest.

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Specific areas of interest include the clarity and structure of CLIN pricing, the statement of work, and technical library requirements, as well as whether any requirements are overly prescriptive or unnecessarily cost-driving. NASA is also seeking feedback on its legal and liability framework, including indemnification provisions under Public Law 85-804.

Additional feedback is requested on performance-based milestone definitions, including whether proposed milestones appropriately reflect mission-critical outcomes, as well as on government-furnished property requirements, past performance evaluation criteria, and letters of commitment from crew and cargo transportation providers.

End-to-end services

NASA is also seeking input on its requirement for end-to-end services, including transportation, and has asked potential offerors to describe alternative approaches that rely on government-furnished transportation and support services, including mission cadence, transition timelines, and architectural impacts.

The DRFP further notes that NASA may identify potential organizational conflicts of interest under the provisions of the NASA Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement and will require facility clearances up to the Top Secret level. Some personnel will require access to sensitive compartmented information, with NASA sponsoring SCI clearances.

NASA emphasized that the document is not a formal solicitation and does not request proposals. NASA will hold a preproposal conference on 9 July 2026, followed by one-on-one industry sessions from 13-15 July. Feedback on the DRFP is requested by 25 July at 9 a.m. Eastern. The primary point of contact is Ashley Chaves, reachable at [email protected].

More information is available at https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/19a8a55c066441ef891e33bac770dd9d/view.