NASA partners with SpaceX, Blue Origin and five other US companies to advance space capabilities

In a move aimed at bolstering human spaceflight and strengthening the U.S. commercial low-Earth orbit (LEO) economy, NASA will be collaborating with seven American companies including SpaceX and Blue Origin.

The following companies have been selected for the second Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities-2 (CCSC-2) initiative:

• Blue Origin: The Kent-based company is collaborating with NASA to develop an integrated commercial space transportation capability that ensures safe, affordable, and high-frequency US access to orbit for crew and other missions.
• Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation - to provide autonomous and robotic capabilities for commercial science research and manufacturing capabilities in LEO
• Sierra Space Corporation - for the development of the company's commercial LEO ecosystem, including next-gene space transportation, in-space infrastructure, and expandable and tailorable space facilities
• Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) - to provide a growing portfolio of technology with near-term Dragon evolution and concurrent Starship development
• Special Aerospace Services - for in-space servicing technology, propulsion, and robotic technology called the Autonomous Maneuvering Unit (AMU) and the Astronaut Assist-AMU for commercial in-space servicing and mobility applications intended for safer assembly of commercial low Earth orbit destinations, servicing, retrieval, and inspection of in-space systems.
• ThinkOrbital Inc. - for the development of ThinkPlatforms - self-assembling, single-launch, large-scale orbital platforms that facilitate a wide array of applications in low Earth orbit, including in-space research, manufacturing, and astronaut missions and CONTESA (Construction Technologies for Space Applications) features welding, cutting, inspection, and additive manufacturing technologies, and aids in large-scale in-space fabrication
• Vast Space LLC - for technologies and operations required for its microgravity and artificial gravity stations. This includes the Haven-1 commercial destination, which will provide a microgravity environment for crew, research, and in-space manufacturing, and the first crewed mission, called Vast-1, to the platform

Through unfunded Space Act Agreements, CCSC-2 aims to drive the development of commercial space-related efforts, leveraging NASA's technical expertise, assessments, lessons learned, technologies, and data.

NASA evaluated proposals from numerous companies based on their alignment with the agency's objectives, the resources they could bring to the table, and the feasibility of their business and technical approaches. Each participating company will bear the costs associated with its involvement, showcasing their commitment to the collaboration.

"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.