Pre-solicitationPosted Sep 4, 2026

Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destination Contract (CLDC) Draft Request for Proposal

NASA · NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

Stage
Early notice (sources sought, presolicitation or special notice)
NAICS
336414
Value
Not stated
Solicitation
80JSC026_CLDC_PRESOLICITIATION_NOTICE
Set-aside
None stated
PSC
V126
Place
Houston, TX, USA
Contact
Ashley Chaves (jsc-cldc@mail.nasa.gov)
…Open on SAM.gov
Loading your pipeline and notes…
CSV Email

Capture briefs (a one-page, shareable copy of this page) are part of Pro. The CSV here holds the notice, its timeline and past awards.

Where this opportunity stands

Every notice posted under solicitation 80JSC026_CLDC_PRESOLICITIATION_NOTICE in this department, oldest first.

Early notice
  • Sep 4, 2026 · this notice
    Pre-solicitation
  • Sep 4, 2026
    Pre-solicitation
    Open
Solicitation
None posted
Award
Not yet. Typical award: Oct 22, 2026 to Apr 9, 2027, middle of the range Jan 9, 2027.
Measured from 23 past early notices at National Aeronautics and Space Administration that later posted an award (middle half of cases, counted from Sep 4, 2026).

Next steps for this stage

Standard steps for the notice type; not advice about this buyer.

  • Answer the notice: this is when the requirement can still be shaped.
  • Contact the contracting officer named on the notice.
  • Check who won similar work; they are the likely bidders.

What the notice says

NASA/Johnson Space Center plans to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destination Contract (CLDC). This acquisition is to acquire services for a commercially owned and operated Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destination System that can provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective end-to-end service. As part of this service, the Contractor(s) will design, build, and operate the Commercial LEO Destination (CLD) system which covers all aspects of development and certification, including design, manufacturing, testing, qualification, production, vehicle transportation… (show all)

and operation, and including operational missions (cargo/crew) and utilization activities post CLD certification. The Government does not intend to acquire a commercial product or commercial service using FAR Part 12. The NAICS Code and Size Standard are 336414 and 1,300 employees, respectively. The RFP is anticipated to be released at the end of September, with offers due 60 days after its release. All responsible sources may submit an offer which will be considered by the agency. 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 If a solicitation is released, then it and any additional documents will be available on Sam.gov. It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor this website for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Prospective offerors are encouraged to notify this office of their intent to submit an offer. All contractual and technical questions concerning this notice must be submitted electronically via email to Ashley Chaves at jsc-cldc@mail.nasa.gov no later than September 15, 2026 at 04:00 PM CST. Telephone questions will not be accepted.

Who won similar work

6 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Matched by: Same agency (NASA), same NAICS 336414.

Single-winner award sizes (6): middle half $24.7M to $64.4M, median $43.2M; range $20.5M to $5.9B.

WinnerAwardsValueLast
SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE San Antonio TX 78238 USA2$86.4MFeb 14, 2025
SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP. · $SPCX1$5.9BSep 18, 2026
AXIOM SPACE INC1$65.8MJul 31, 2026
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF NEW HAMPSHIRE Durham NH 03824 USA1$24.3MNov 14, 2024
THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY LLC1$20.5MJan 17, 2025

Value counts single-winner awards. "Shared" awards are multiple-award contracts that list every winner with the same total ceiling; that ceiling is not one company's win, so it is not added in. Revenue next to a ticker is the company's last annual revenue from its 10-K.

Latest awards

Competitive landscape

For the 5 most frequent past winners above. Lobbying is matched by the company's exact name or exact ticker; agencies are as named on the filings.

  • 3 of these past winners lobbied Natl Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) since 2024 (35 filings)
  • 0 of their lobbyists list a past Natl Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) job
  • No corporate PAC money from them to the overseeing committees since 2024
  • 0 foreign-agent (FARA) registrations
See who and the source records with Pro

Policy around it

Bills the past winners named while lobbying this agency's issues, rules from the department, and executive orders that name the agency, last 12 months.

  • 8 bills named on the past winners' lobbying filings
  • 16 rules from the department in the last 12 months
  • 0 executive orders naming the agency in the last 12 months
See who and the source records with Pro

Market

For past winners matched exactly to a listed company. Insider trades are open-market buys and sells (Form 4) in the last 90 days, shown as facts; our own study found insiders do not reliably buy ahead of awards. A sale marked 10b5-1 was made under a trading plan set up in advance.

  • 1 of the past winners are listed companies
  • 0 insider buys and 0 insider sells at them in the last 90 days
See who and the source records with Pro

Sources: SAM.gov notices and award notices; Senate LDA lobbying filings; FEC filings; FARA; Federal Register; congress.gov; SEC Form 4. Every row above links to its record.

Companies are matched to tickers by exact name only. A company we could not match shows no market rows; that is a miss, not a finding.