Notice of Intent (NOI) to Issue a Sole Source Modification – NASA Commercial Crew Space Transportation Services

NASA/Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has a requirement to add six additional Post Certification Missions (PCMs) under the Commercial Crew Transportation Contract (CCtCap) contract NNK14MA74C and concurrently order up to three of these additional missions. NASA/KSC intends to issue a sole source modification, under the authority of FAR 6.103-1, to acquire the additional PCMs from Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX), the only Crew Transportation System (CTS) certified by NASA.

According to the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017, (Pub. L. No. 115?10, 131 Stat. 18 (2017)), “In order to ensure continuous United States participation and leadership in the exploration and utilization of space and as an essential instrument of national security, it is the policy of the United States to maintain an uninterrupted capability for human space flight and operations— (1) in low-Earth orbit; and (2) beyond low-Earth orbit...” NASA has CCtCap contracts with Boeing and SpaceX.

SpaceX is the only known source of CTS that has been certified by NASA to provide crew transportation services to the International Space Station (ISS). To date, SpaceX has successfully launched twelve PCMs to the ISS, demonstrating its capabilities.

It is necessary to award additional PCMs to SpaceX given the recently shortened ISS mission durations; technical issues and schedule delays encountered by Boeing; the allocation of missions between Boeing and SpaceX; NASA’s projections for when an alternative CTS may become available; and the ongoing technical challenges of maintaining a reliable CTS capability for crewed flights to ISS.

Awarding additional PCMs to SpaceX is essential for NASA to fulfill its responsibility of maintaining uninterrupted flight access for ISS’s safe operation and to safeguard against potential anomalies or mishaps, and unforeseen external factors.

The Government does not intend to acquire a commercial product or commercial service using FAR Part 12. Interested organizations may submit their capabilities and qualifications to perform the effort electronically via email to Ricardo Santos-Concepcion at ricardo.santos-concepcion@nasa.gov and Steve Parker at steve.parker@nasa.gov not later than 5:00PM ET on June 2, 2026. Such capabilities/qualifications will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct this acquisition on a competitive basis.

A determination by the Government not to compete this acquisition on a full and open competition basis, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at : https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf