NASA seeks industry insight into payload processing facilities for future nuclear space missions

WASHINGTON - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is seeking industry insight into contractor-owned payload processing facilities capable of supporting future spacecraft missions involving radioisotope heater units and related nuclear material-handling requirements at or near the Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station by 1 January 2028.

The agency noted it is not seeking to design, develop, acquire, or operate a government-owned nuclear payload processing facility. Instead, the effort is intended solely to assess existing or planned commercial facilities that could potentially support future missions involving Light Weight Radioisotope Heater Units (LWRHUs).

LWRHUs are compact radioisotope devices used to provide passive heat to spacecraft systems operating in extreme cold environments.

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Payload processing 

NASA said the feasibility study is intended to provide insight into payload processing facilities (PPFs) capable of handling spacecraft containing LWRHUs while meeting Department of Energy, Idaho National Laboratory, and NASA safety requirements associated with Hazard Category 3 nuclear operations.

The agency specified that any proposed facility must be contractor-owned and contractor-operated, not government-owned. NASA also stressed that participation in the study does not guarantee future mission work or procurement of a facility.

The solicitation outlines technical requirements for facilities capable of spacecraft processing, hazardous fueling operations, and payload encapsulation within launch vehicle fairings up to 5 meters in diameter. Proposed facilities also would need ISO Class 7 cleanliness capability, planetary protection safeguards, and infrastructure supporting nuclear material handling and storage.

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NASA requested detailed operational concepts for spacecraft receipt, integration, fueling, encapsulation, and transport operations between a payload processing facility and launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center or the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Regulatiory requirements

The study also requests documentation describing how contractors would support safety assessments and regulatory certification activities required by the Department of Energy and Idaho National Laboratory for Hazard Category 3 nuclear material processing operations.

If a proposed payload processing facility has not yet been constructed, NASA requires contractors to provide detailed construction schedules, milestone tracking, schedule margin analysis, risk assessments, and mitigation plans demonstrating operational readiness by January 2028.

The solicitation also requires contractors to obtain a Technical Assistance Agreement with an international partner based on the European Space Agency-Airbus relationship model to support controlled information exchange.

NASA clarified in responses to industry questions that the study currently is limited to facilities capable of supporting missions involving Light Weight Radioisotope Heater Units rather than larger radioisotope power systems or space nuclear fission reactor payloads.

The agency also stated that the study is not tied exclusively to the European Space Agency's Rosalind Franklin Mars rover mission and instead is intended to help NASA evaluate commercial payload processing capabilities for potential future missions involving LWRHUs.

NASA named Allyson Grooms as the primary point of contact for this RFI. They can be reached via email at [email protected]. More information is available at https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/e77b0c25f7ef4b7bbe4ddcab7bc5b883/view.