NASA has awarded contracts to Thales Alenia Space France of Cannes, France, and Thales Alenia Space Italia S.p.A. of Rome, Italy, under the On-Ramp feature of the Rapid Spacecraft Acquisition IV (Rapid IV) contract. The work will be performed at the contractors’ facilities in Cannes and Rome.
Rapid IV is a multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract that allows the federal government to place firm-fixed price delivery orders for spacecraft and related services. These multi-agency contracts may support other NASA centers and other federal agencies. The Rapid IV contracts have a combined potential maximum value of $6 billion. This value includes all the delivery orders issued from the Rapid IV contract and is not the order value to any one vendor.
The On-Ramp feature used with these contracts allows for the original solicitation to be reopened periodically in order to give new vendors the opportunity to propose flight proven spacecraft designs. On-Ramps also give vendors who already have been awarded a Rapid IV contract the opportunity to propose additional flight-proven spacecraft designs and/or update their existing catalog designs.
The Rapid IV contracts serve as a rapid and flexible means for the U.S. government to acquire spacecraft and related components, equipment, and services in support of NASA missions and/or other federal agencies. The spacecraft designs, related items, and services may be tailored, as needed, to meet the unique needs of each mission.
For additional information regarding Rapid IV spacecraft vendors and the core spacecraft offered, visit the Rapid Spacecraft Development Office website at:
For information about other NASA and agency programs, visit:
