01 / Federal Opportunity Brief
NASA Launch Services II (NLS-II) 2026 On-Ramp
02 / Federal Buyer
Who is buying?
03 / Purchase
What is the government buying?
NASA Launch Services II (NLS-II) 2026 On-Ramp
The current notice is soliciting this requirement from eligible offerors.
Launch services must include launch vehicles capable of being certified to risk mitigation standards; further scope details are not provided and may be defined in future orders.
The acquisition is structured as Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) task order contracts awarded to multiple launch service providers.
Work is assigned through task orders issued by the contracting officer under the IDIQ contracts.
04 / Contracting Requirements
How will this procurement work?
| Requirement | What the notice says | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility | Eligible offerors must be domestic launch service providers and AS9100 certified by the date of contract award. | Confirmed |
| Contract ceiling | Not disclosed | Not Disclosed |
| Minimum guarantee | Not disclosed | Not Disclosed |
| Contract duration | Not disclosed | Not Disclosed |
| Foreign participation | Not disclosed | Not Disclosed |
| Proposal and award procedure | The RFP remains open until June 30, 2030 with an innovative on-ramp provision allowing new and existing launch service providers to submit proposals annually each August or as otherwise announced. | Partially Confirmed |
| Staffing and security | Not disclosed in the notice. | Not Disclosed |
Read the original SAM.gov description
The NASA Launch Services (NLS) II Request for Proposal (RFP) remains open until June 30, 2030 through the use of an innovative on-ramp provision found in Section C, Clause 2.0. The NLS II contract’s ordering period remains valid through June 30, 2030. The RFP has resulted in the award of Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) task order contracts to United Launch Services, LLC; Orbital Sciences Corporation (currently known as Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation); Space Exploration Technologies; and Blue Origin, LLC. Each August during the life of the solicitation, or at any other time established via synopsis, the Government will accept proposals from new launch service providers for IDIQ contracts and proposals from existing IDIQ contractors for additional launch services. The Government is currently contemplating opening an on-ramp opportunity. Launch services proposed under the NLS II solicitation shall only include launch vehicles capable of being certified to risk mitigation Category 2 and 3 in accordance with NASA Policy Directive 8610.7D, Launch Services Risk Mitigation Policy for NASA-Owned and/or NASA-Sponsored Payloads/Missions. These launch services, at a minimum, shall be capable of delivering a 250kg payload to orbit at an altitude of 200km and a launch inclination of 28.5 degrees. This acquisition is restricted to domestic sources. Minimum contract requirements will be set forth in Attachment E3, Paragraph 1.0 of the NLS II RFP when released. Specifically, in addition to the launch vehicle requirements described above, offerors must be domestic launch service providers and must be AS9100 certified by the date of contract award. It is requested that any interested party notify NASA in writing no later than October 5, 2026, of your intent to submit a proposal during this on-ramp period as well as a description of the launch vehicle configuration(s) you intend to propose and current flight manifest. If the Government chooses to conduct an On Ramp by issuing a solicitation notice, new launch service providers and current IDIQ contractors will be allowed to submit proposals, within the notice's stated response time. An ombudsman has been appointed in accordance with NFS 1852.215-84.
05 / Historical Spending Trend
How has spending on the selected comparable contracts changed?
The same closed fiscal-year window and the same complete comparable-contract set are used throughout this Brief. Net obligations total $184.27M across 7 fiscal years.
| Fiscal year | Comparable obligations | Actions | Vendors |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2019 | $0 | 1 | 1 |
| FY 2020 | $20.0K | 4 | 3 |
| FY 2021 | $16.48M | 12 | 3 |
| FY 2022 | $62.10M | 23 | 4 |
| FY 2023 | $40.61M | 15 | 3 |
| FY 2024 | $65.01M | 12 | 3 |
| FY 2025 | $41.9K | 6 | 2 |
06 / Related Historical Awards
Which contracts support the comparison?
No direct contract reference was found. 5 broad matches are shown as supporting context.
| Contract | Vendor | Latest activity | Office | NAICS / PSC | Match | Obligations | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NNK15LB18C | ROCKET LAB USA, INC. | Mar 27, 2019 | NASA KENNEDY SPACE CENTER | 336414 / V126 | Broad match Buyer and requirement-language evidence | $0 | 1 |
| 80KSC021C0009 | BLUE ORIGIN, LLC | Dec 12, 2025 | NASA KENNEDY SPACE CENTER | 336414 / V126 | Broad match Buyer and requirement-language evidence | $1.41M | 20 |
| 80KSC018C0010 | VIRGIN ORBIT, LLC | Oct 15, 2021 | NASA KENNEDY SPACE CENTER | 336414 / V126 | Broad match Buyer and requirement-language evidence | $0 | 3 |
| 80KSC021CA006 | SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP. | Nov 15, 2024 | NASA KENNEDY SPACE CENTER | 336414 / AR12 | Broad match Buyer and requirement-language evidence | $151.38M | 36 |
| 80KSC022FA098 | YETISPACE, INC. | Mar 26, 2025 | NASA KENNEDY SPACE CENTER | 541330 / R425 | Broad match Buyer and requirement-language evidence | $270.4K | 5 |
07 / Contractor Evidence
Which contractors have performed related work?
Historical contractors are ranked by direct procurement-family evidence and comparable contract activity. The table distinguishes connected holders from broader performers without identifying unverified bidders.
No directly connected predecessor was identified. The companies below are historical performers selected from the comparable contract set; none is identified as a bidder.
| Company | Evidence | Fit | Why included | Contracts | Actions | Obligations | Latest activity | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP. UEI C6M7C2FLKER5 · CAGE 3BVL8 | Broad historical performer Historical performer | Moderate | Comparable buyer and requirement history | 1 | 36 | $151.38M | Nov 15, 2024 | GETWAB profile Verified via SAM Entities Official website |
| BLUE ORIGIN, LLC UEI SFKWJAYSTL95 · CAGE 89ZW9 | Broad historical performer Historical performer | Moderate | Comparable buyer and requirement history | 1 | 20 | $1.41M | Dec 12, 2025 | GETWAB profile |
| YETISPACE, INC. UEI GC3AWA1BAB33 · CAGE 62A03 | Broad historical performer Historical performer | Moderate | Comparable buyer and requirement history | 1 | 5 | $270.4K | Mar 26, 2025 | GETWAB profile Verified via GSA eLibrary Official website |
| ROCKET LAB USA, INC. UEI EUXNBKLC23G1 · CAGE 7C1D6 | Broad historical performer Historical performer | Moderate | Comparable buyer and requirement history | 1 | 1 | $0 | Mar 27, 2019 | GETWAB profile Verified via SAM Entities Official website |
| VIRGIN ORBIT, LLC UEI EN9ZYEMQCWA5 · CAGE 7R3N5 | Broad historical performer Historical performer | Moderate | Comparable buyer and requirement history | 1 | 3 | $0 | Oct 15, 2021 | GETWAB profile Verified via SAM Entities Official website |
08 / Competitive Landscape
How was comparable work competed?
Competition treatment is calculated from exactly the same closed-period contract set used in Sections 5–7. It describes historical actions, not the outcome of this solicitation.
| FPDS treatment | Code | Actions | Obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full and open competition | A | 73 | $184.27M | 100.0% |
09 / Procurement History
How was this opportunity published and updated?
One SAM.gov notice record was resolved for this procurement family.
| Notice | Type | Posted | Response deadline | Status | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RFP10-99-0021-Rev_U Current Brief record NASA Launch Services II (NLS-II) 2026 On-Ramp | Sources Sought | Sep 4, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 4:00 PM GMT-0400 | Active | View on SAM.gov |
10 / NAICS and PSC Market Context
How large is the selected comparable market?
Classification codes organize the evidence; they do not prove that every contract in the broader NAICS or PSC market matches this requirement.
11 / Capture Signals and Risks
What should be validated before committing capture resources?
Capture signals separate verified procurement-family evidence from unresolved requirements and market-only indicators.
Direct procurement-family evidence
No direct award record found
Buyer proximity
5 comparable record(s) share the contracting office
Eligibility
Not disclosed in the indexed notice
Unresolved requirement fields
6
12 / Who Should Pursue
When does this opportunity fit?
- Your team can demonstrate recent, relevant delivery in launch services, launch vehicles, NASA Launch Services (NLS) II.
- Your company can document the stated eligibility conditions: Eligible offerors must be domestic launch service providers and AS9100 certified by the date of contract award.
- You can perform under the stated acquisition model: The acquisition is structured as Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) task order contracts awarded to multiple launch service providers.
- You can show credible past performance for NASA KENNEDY SPACE CENTER or a closely related federal customer.
- Your technical scope fits, but you lack demonstrated history with NASA KENNEDY SPACE CENTER.
- You need a specialist teammate to close unresolved staffing, security, or detailed-scope requirements before committing.
- You cannot satisfy or verify the stated eligibility conditions: Eligible offerors must be domestic launch service providers and AS9100 certified by the date of contract award.
- Your delivery model cannot support the stated contract vehicle or order-based work structure.
- The unresolved requirements shown above cannot be validated before committing proposal resources.