NASA Issues RFP for $7B Lunar 'Gateway' Cargo Delivery Services IDIQ; Jim Bridenstine Quoted

NASA has launched a full and open competition for a potential 15-year, $7B commercial supply services contract to send cargo, supplies and scientific instruments to a proposed moon-orbiting outpost.

The agency posted a request for proposals on FedBizOpps seeking logistics spacecraft platforms that will work to transport pressurized and unpressurized cargo to the Gateway for human and robotic missions under the Artemis lunar exploration program.

“This solicitation builds on the capabilities NASA pioneered in low-Earth orbit with commercial cargo resupply to the International Space Station and is the next step in commercialization of deep space,” Jim Bridenstine, administrator of NASA and a 2019 Wash100 winner, said in a statement released Monday.

Bridenstine added collaborating with industry is a key step to reach the agency’s goal of landing U.S. astronauts on the lunar surface by 2024.

The multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract includes a minimum award guarantee of two missions.

According to the RFP notice, a contractor will be responsible for building, procuring, processing, integrating and operating a Gateway logistics vehicle.

The logistics service offering should cover navigation and guidance, propulsion and power generation systems to facilitate an autonomous docking process on the lunar home base.

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