Big Changes In NASA’s CLD Program

Keith’s note: ICYMI missed the NASA CLD Directive post the other day NASA Commercial LEO Space Stations Acquisition Strategy you are not alone since NASA is not talking about it either. No mention of this major change is made by @NASA or NASA.gov or here on their CLD page. In a nutshell:

• Upon performing a reassessment, Space Operations Mission Directorate (SOMD) and CLDP have determined the CLD acquisition strategy must be altered. Instead of moving forward in Phase 2 with a firm fixed price contract for CLD certification and services, NASA will continue to support U.S industry’s design and demonstration of CLDs with multiple funded SAAs for the next phase. NASA will shift the formal design acceptance and certification planning acceptance from this SAA phase to a follow-on certification phase.
• Utilizing SAAs for the next phase better aligns with enabling development of US industry platforms. It provides greater resources for industry to align schedule with NASA’s needs. SAAs also provide more flexibility to deal with possible variations in funding levels without the need of potentially protracted and inefficient contract renegotiations.