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By NASA
Credit: NASA NASA has selected six companies to produce studies focused on lower-cost ways to launch and deliver spacecraft of various sizes and forms to multiple, difficult-to-reach orbits.
The firm-fixed-price awards comprise nine studies with a maximum total value of approximately $1.4 million. The awardees are:
Arrow Science and Technology LLC, Webster, Texas Blue Origin LLC, Merritt Island, Florida Firefly Aerospace Inc., Cedar Park, Texas Impulse Space Inc., Redondo Beach, California Rocket Lab, Long Beach, California United Launch Services LLC, Centennial, Colorado “With the increasing maturity of commercial space delivery capabilities, we’re asking companies to demonstrate how they can meet NASA’s need for multi-spacecraft and multi-orbit delivery to difficult-to-reach orbits beyond current launch service offerings,” said Joe Dant, orbital transfer vehicle strategic initiative owner for the Launch Services Program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “This will increase unique science capability and lower the agency’s overall mission costs.”
Each of the six companies will deliver studies exploring future application of orbital transfer vehicles for NASA missions:
Arrow will partner with Quantum Space for its study. Quantum’s Ranger provides payload delivery service as a multi-mission spacecraft engineered for rapid maneuverability and adaptability, enabling multi-destination delivery for missions from low Earth orbit to lunar orbit.
Blue Origin will produce two studies, including one for Blue Ring, a large, high-mobility space platform providing full-service payload delivery, on-board edge computing, hosting, and end-to-end mission operations. It uses hybrid solar-electric and chemical propulsion capability to reach geostationary, cislunar, Mars, and interplanetary destinations. The second is a New Glenn upper stage study.
Firefly’s line of Elytra orbital vehicles offers on-demand payload delivery, imaging, long-haul communications, and domain awareness across cislunar space. Firefly’s Elytra Dark is equipped to serve as a transfer vehicle and enable ongoing operations in lunar orbit for more than five years.
Impulse Space will produce two studies. The company provides in-space mobility with two vehicles, Mira and Helios. Mira is a high-thrust, highly maneuverable spacecraft for payload hosting and deployment, while Helios is a high-energy kick stage to rapidly deliver payloads from low Earth to medium Earth orbits, geostationary orbits and beyond.
Rocket Lab’s two studies will feature the upper stage of the company’s Neutron rocket, as well as a long-life orbital transfer vehicle based on its Explorer spacecraft. Both vehicles are equipped with their own propulsion systems and other subsystems for missions to medium Earth and geosynchronous orbit and deep space destinations like the Moon, Mars, and near-Earth asteroids.
United Launch Alliance will assess the cislunar mission capabilities of an extended-duration Centaur V upper stage. Centaur would be capable of directly delivering multiple rideshare spacecraft to two different orbital destinations in cislunar space, avoiding the need for an additional rocket stage or orbital transfer vehicle.
The studies will be complete by mid-September. NASA will use the findings to inform mission design, planning, and commercial launch acquisition strategies for risk-tolerant payloads, with a possibility of expanding delivery services to larger-sized payloads and to less risk-tolerant missions in the future.
NASA’s Launch Services Program selected providers through the agency’s VADR (Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare Launch Services) contract, which helps foster growth of the U.S. commercial launch market, enabling greater access to space at a lower cost for science and technology missions.
For more information about NASA’s Launch Services Program, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/launch-services-program
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Josh Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Leejay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-747-8310
leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Aug 05, 2025 LocationKennedy Space Center Related Terms
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By NASA
7 Min Read NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 Looks Back at Science Mission
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 Looks Back at Science Mission
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission with agency astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov is preparing to return to Earth in early August after a long-duration mission aboard the International Space Station. During their stay, McClain, Ayers, and Onishi completed dozens of experiments and technology demonstrations, helping push the boundaries of scientific discovery aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Here’s a look at some scientific milestones accomplished during the Crew-10 mission:
Orbital effects on plants
NASA The canisters floating in the cupola of the International Space Station contain wild-type and genetically-modified thale cress plants for the Rhodium Plant LIFE experiment. The investigation studies how radiation and gravity environments at different orbital altitudes affect plant growth by comparing Crew-10 data with plants flown aboard the Polaris Dawn mission, which flew deeper into space. Studies have shown microgravity affects growth rates, and a better understanding of the mechanisms behind this could improve plant growth techniques in space and on Earth.
Solar spacewalk
NASA NASA astronaut Anne McClain conducts a spacewalk to upgrade the International Space Station’s power generation systems, which include main solar arrays like the one visible behind her. McClain is installing hardware to support an IROSA (International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array), a type of array that is more compact and produces more power than the station’s original ones. The IROSAs were first demonstrated aboard the orbiting laboratory in June 2017, and eight have been installed to augment the power available for scientific research and other activities.
Microalgae on the menu
NASA NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers uses the International Space Station’s Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory to process samples for SOPHONSTER, a study of microgravity’s effects on the protein yield of microalgae. These organisms are highly nutritious, producing amino acids, fatty acids, B vitamins, iron, and fiber. The microalgae could provide sustainable meat and dairy alternatives during long-duration space missions. It also could be used to make biofuels and bioactive compounds in medicines in space and on Earth.
Looking down on lightning
NASA The International Space Station orbits more than 250 miles above Earth, giving astronauts a unique view of their home planet, where they can photograph familiar places and interesting phenomena. While passing over a stormy night, NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers captured this image of simultaneous lightning at the top of two thunderstorms. Scientists use instruments installed on the space station to study lightning and other weather conditions in Earth’s upper atmosphere. This research helps protect communication systems and aircraft while improving atmospheric models and weather predictions.
Testing the tips of DNA
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NASA In this time-lapse video, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers harvest samples for the APEX-12 investigation, which examines how space radiation affects telomere activity in thale cress plants. Telomeres, which are repetitive DNA sequences that protect the ends of chromosomes, become shorter each time a cell divides and indicate cell aging. The APEX-12 investigation could clarify the role of telomeres in aging and diseases and help scientists equip plants and other organisms for the stress of long-duration spaceflight.
Microscopic motion
NASA A fluorescent microscope, known as ELVIS, captures the motion of microscopic algae and bacteria in 3D, a new capability aboard the International Space Station. The technology could be helpful in various applications in space and on Earth, such as monitoring water quality and detecting potentially infectious organisms. NASA astronaut Anne McClain prepares bacterial samples for viewing with the microscope.
How cells sense gravity
NASA Individual cells in our bodies can respond to the effects of gravity, but how they do this is largely unknown. The Cell Gravisensing investigation is an effort to observe the mechanism that enables cells to sense gravity and could lead to therapies to treat muscle and bone conditions, like muscle atrophy during long-duration spaceflight and osteoporosis on Earth. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi processes research samples in the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module.
Water works
NASA NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain work on installing hardware for the International Space Station’s Exploration Potable Water Dispenser. Scientists are evaluating the device’s water sanitization and microbial growth reduction technology. The dispenser provides room temperature and hot water for crew consumption and food preparation. This technology could be adopted for future exploration missions.
Free-flying camera
NASA Astronaut Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) monitors the JEM Internal Ball Camera 2 as it floats through the International Space Station. The free-flying, rechargeable camera provides a visual field outside the other cameras installed aboard the space station. JAXA is testing the robot’s ability to capture video and imagery of scientific experiments and other activities, which could free up crew time for research and other duties.
Two rings to pin them all
NASA NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers sets up the space station’s Ring Sheared Drop device, which uses surface tension to pin a drop of liquid between two rings. The device makes it possible to study liquid proteins without a solid container, eliminating interactions between the solutions and container walls that can affect results. The Ring Sheared Drop-IBP-2 experiment studies the behavior of protein fluids in microgravity and tests predictive computer models. Better models could help advance manufacturing processes in space and on Earth for next-generation medicines to treat cancers and other diseases.
Crystallization research
NASA NASA astronaut Anne McClain swaps out hardware in the International Space Station’s Advanced Space Experiment Processor-4, which enables physical science and crystallization research. A current investigation uses the processor to demonstrate technology that may be able to produce medications during deep space missions and improve pharmaceutical manufacturing on Earth.
Monitoring astronaut health
NASA NASA astronaut Anne McClain helps JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi collect a sample of his blood. Analysis of blood samples is one tool NASA uses to continuously monitor crew health, including cardiovascular and immune system functions, bone and muscle mass changes, nutritional and metabolic status, and mental well-being. Crew members aboard the International Space Station also participate in various ongoing studies to better understand how different body systems adapt to weightlessness.
Catching a corona
NASA/KASI/INAF/CODEX This animated, color-coded heat map shows temperature changes in the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, over several days, with red indicating hotter regions and purple showing cooler ones. Scientists can observe these changes thanks to the International Space Station’s CODEX, which collected data during the Crew-10 mission. The instrument uses a coronagraph to block out sunlight and reveal details in the Sun’s corona. Data from this investigation could help scientists understand the energy source of the solar wind, a flow of charged particles from the Sun that constantly bombards Earth.
Expanding in-space crystallization
NASA Astronaut Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) services the International Space Station’s Advanced Space Experiment Processor-4 in preparation for ADSEP-Industrial Crystallization Cassette. This investigation tests new hardware that scales up research and could enable in-space production of pharmaceuticals and other materials for commercial space applications.
Sowing seeds in space
NASA NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers prepares mixture tubes containing samples for Nanoracks Module-9 Swiss Chard. This student-designed experiment examines whether the size, shape, color, and nutritional content of Swiss chard seeds germinated in space differ from those grown on Earth. The International Space Station hosts ongoing plant research as a source of food and other benefits, including contributing to astronaut well-being, for future long-duration missions.
Protecting astronaut vision
NASA Spaceflight can cause changes to eye structure and vision, so crew members monitor eye health throughout their missions. Astronaut Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), assisted by NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers, conducts an eye exam aboard the International Space Station using optical coherence tomography. This technology uses reflected light to produce 3D images of the retina, nerve fibers, and other eye structures and layers.
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Last Updated Aug 05, 2025 Related Terms
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NASA Second Lady Usha Vance and NASA Astronaut Suni Williams listen to the audience in this image from Aug. 4, 2025. Ms. Vance joined Williams at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for a summer reading challenge event, through which the Second Lady encourages youth to seek adventure, imagination, and discovery between the pages of a book.
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