NASA will work with seven U.S. companies to meet future commercial and government requirements, ultimately benefiting human spaceflight and the U.S. economy in low Earth orbit. ThinkOrbital, a company involved in additive manufacturing, is also participating.
The Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities-2 (CCSC-2) initiative supports commercial space efforts with NASA expertise and data through unfunded Space Act Agreements.
The selected companies are Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, Sierra Space Corporation, Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, Special Aerospace Services, ThinkOrbital Inc. and Vast Space LLC.
“It is great to see companies invest their own capital toward innovative commercial space capabilities, and we’ve seen how these types of partnerships benefit both the private sector and NASA,” said Phil McAlister, director of commercial spaceflight at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. “The companies can leverage NASA’s vast knowledge and experience, and the agency can be a customer for the capabilities included in the agreements in the future. Ultimately, these agreements will foster more competition for services and more providers for innovative space capabilities.”
The projects include the development of commercial space transportation capabilities, autonomous and robotic capabilities for commercial scientific research and production, space infrastructure and facilities, and space servicing and mobility technologies.
NASA’s support for a robust low-earth orbit economy is intended to spur economic growth by creating new space markets. For decades, NASA has supported the continued U.S. presence in low-Earth orbit and strives to create a low-Earth orbit market where NASA is one of many customers and the private sector takes the lead.
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