Originally published 1/15/2025. Last revised 1/15/2025.
Last updated
As of today, Wednesday Jan 15, 2025, the official award notices were published by Kenneth D. Bowersox, a former astronaut and current NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations, in partnership with the Near Space Network Services Source Evaluation Board (SEB) as the main decision maker on Sam.GOV regarding the Near Space Network Services (NSN) contract that was spoken of previously on December 20, 2024, when task orders were published, outlining specifically what the award details. The total award, to be split among the companies involved (Intutive Machines, Kongsberg Satellite Services AS, Viasat, SSC Space US) totals $4,820,000,000.00 with no specificities given on the split between the companies. This award will result in multiple fixed price, indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contracts. For further background, see .
This contract award contains 2 main categories and 3 main subcategories:
Category 1 - Near Space Direct-To-Earth (DTE), which covers Direct-to-Earth communication and navigation services for customer missions, spacecraft, or payloads up to 2 million kilometers from Earth.
Subcat 1.1 - Earth Proximity DTE (Procured by Kongsberg Satellite Services, SSC Space US, and Viasat)
Subcat 1.2 - GEO to Cislunar DTE (Procured by Intuitive Machines and Kongsberg Satellite Services)
Subcat 1.3 - xCislunar DTE (Procured by Intuitive Machines and SSC Space US)
Category 2 - Near Space Relay, which covers Space Relay communication and navigation services for customer missions, spacecraft, or payloads up to 2 million kilometers from Earth
No specificities were given in this contract award regarding category 2 and the award details/included PDF documents go into detail exclusively on the 3 subcategories of category 1.
Subcat 1.1 refers to direct-to-earth (DTE) communications for missions in or near Earth orbit (LEO, MEO, HEO, or GEO), as well as tracking, telemetry, and command for satellites and spacecraft in or near Earth orbit.
The following five offerors submitted timely proposals:
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)
Kongsberg Satellite Services AS (KSAT)
Parsons Government Services, Inc.
SSC Space US, Inc.
Viasat, Inc.
Parsons Government Services wasn't included in further competitive running and John Hopkins was knocked out in further competitive stages, making Kongsberg Satellite Services, SSC Space US, and Viasat ultimately chosen as the awardees for this subcategory.
Included in the proposals put forward by each company were Technical Acceptability Standards (TAS):
Infrastructure
Information Technology (IT) Security (ITSec)/Communications Security - (COMSEC)
Spectrum Management
Export Control
Customer Base and Partners/Business Viability/Financial Resources
Risk Reduction
Interfaces
Functional, Performance, and Mission Assurance Requirements
Asset Characteristics and Geographic Diversity
Representative Task Order (RTO) Capability Validation Technical Compliance and Schedule
Kongsberg Satellite Services, SSC Space US, and Viasat were all given a rating of "Acceptable" for each TAS portion of the proposal.
Included in the proposals put forward by each company was a Past Performance Evaluation, conducted by the SEB, ranging in 6 levels, from Very Low Level of Confidence to Neutral to Very High Level of Confidence:
Kongsberg Satellite Services rated Very High
SSC Space US rated High
Viasat rated High
Pricing of offerors was also a factor as the SEB analyzed each to ensure that a "fair and reasonable" price is paid by the government for services and product.
The offerors' prices were compared to one another and to the Government's estimate (Derived Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE)). The basis of estimate (BOE) provided in the proposal was also reviewed. Each proposed Representative Task Order (RTO) pricing contained in Enclosure BB, along with the pricing contained in Exhibit B “Near Space Network Services Pricing Model,” were assessed to determine the reasonableness of the proposed subcategory validation price, along with the Not-To-Exceed (NTE) Operational Services price per minute rates. For Subcategory 1.1, the total evaluated price, including the Total Price for Operational Services Minutes for Contract Years 1-10 and the proposed Not-to-Exceed Capability Validation Total Price was presented to me, as well as the results of the price analysis of the Offeror’s proposal. Proposed Operational Services price per minute rates that are outside of Contract Years 1-10 were evaluated for price reasonableness only and were not included in calculating the total evaluated price for this subcategory.
The provided estimates reasonably and appropriately take into account the technical complexity of performing the Earth Proximity DTE services to be acquired, which have not previously been performed.
Subcat 1.2 refers to direct-to-earth (DTE) missions that extend from geostationary orbit out into the cislunar domain, and typically handles communication & telemetry, tracking, and command for orbiters, lunar landers, or spacecraft.
The following five offerors submitted timely proposals:
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)
Kongsberg Satellite Services AS (KSAT)
Parsons Government Services, Inc.
SSC Space US, Inc.
Intuitive Machines
Intuitive Machines and Kongsberg Satellite Services were the only ones in the competitive running for this contract, as notified to each company on July 11, 2024, and both were ultimately awarded this contract.
Included in the proposals put forward by each company were Technical Acceptability Standards (TAS):
Infrastructure
Information Technology (IT) Security (ITSec)/Communications Security - (COMSEC)
Spectrum Management
Export Control
Customer Base and Partners/Business Viability/Financial Resources
Risk Reduction
Interfaces
Functional, Performance, and Mission Assurance Requirements
Asset Characteristics and Geographic Diversity
Representative Task Order (RTO) Capability Validation Technical Compliance and Schedule
Intuitive Machines and Kongsberg Satellite Services were all given a rating of "Acceptable" for each TAS portion of the proposal.
Included in the proposals put forward by each company was a Past Performance Evaluation, conducted by the SEB, ranging in 6 levels, from Very Low Level of Confidence to Neutral to Very High Level of Confidence:
Kongsberg Satellite Services rated Moderate
Intuitive Machines rated High
Pricing of offerors was also a factor as the SEB analyzed each to ensure that a "fair and reasonable" price is paid by the government for services and product.
The offerors' prices were compared to one another and to the Government's estimate (Derived Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE)). The basis of estimate (BOE) provided in the proposal was also reviewed. Each proposed Representative Task Order (RTO) pricing contained in Enclosure BB, along with the pricing contained in Exhibit B “Near Space Network Services Pricing Model,” were assessed to determine the reasonableness of the proposed subcategory validation price, along with the Not-To-Exceed (NTE) Operational Services price per minute rates. For Subcategory 1.2, the total evaluated price, including the Total Price for Operational Services Minutes for Contract Years 3-10 and the proposed Not-toExceed Capability Validation Total Price was presented to me, as well as the results of the price analysis of the Offeror’s proposal. Proposed Operational Services price per minute rates that are outside of Contract Years 3-10 were evaluated for price reasonableness only and were not included in calculating the total evaluated price for this subcategory
The provided estimates reasonably and appropriately take into account the technical complexity of performing the GEO to Cislunar DTE services to be acquired, which have not previously been performed
Subcat 1.3 refers to "ex-cislunar" or beyond cislunar missions, to include highly elliptical orbits and deep space operations for spacecraft that have not yet departed NASA's "near space" boundary but headed towards deep space.
The following five offerors submitted timely proposals:
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)
Kongsberg Satellite Services AS (KSAT)
Parsons Government Services, Inc.
SSC Space US, Inc.
Intuitive Machines
Parsons Government Services and Parsons Government Services weren't included in the competitive running and Kongsberg Satellite Services was knocked out in further competitive stages, making Intuitive Machines and SSC Space US ultimately chosen as the awardees for this subcategory.
Included in the proposals put forward by each company were Technical Acceptability Standards (TAS):
Infrastructure
Information Technology (IT) Security (ITSec)/Communications Security - (COMSEC)
Spectrum Management
Export Control
Customer Base and Partners/Business Viability/Financial Resources
Risk Reduction
Interfaces
Functional, Performance, and Mission Assurance Requirements
Asset Characteristics and Geographic Diversity
Representative Task Order (RTO) Capability Validation Technical Compliance and Schedule
Intuitive Machines and SSC Space US were all given a rating of "Acceptable" for each TAS portion of the proposal.
Included in the proposals put forward by each company was a Past Performance Evaluation, conducted by the SEB, ranging in 6 levels, from Very Low Level of Confidence to Neutral to Very High Level of Confidence:
SSC Space US rated High
Intuitive Machines rated High
Pricing of offerors was also a factor as the SEB analyzed each to ensure that a "fair and reasonable" price is paid by the government for services and product.
The offerors' prices were compared to one another and to the Government's estimate (Derived Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE)). The basis of estimate (BOE) provided in the proposal was also reviewed. Each proposed Representative Task Order (RTO) pricing contained in Enclosure BB, along with the pricing contained in Exhibit B “Near Space Network Services Pricing Model,” were assessed to determine the reasonableness of the proposed subcategory validation price, along with the Not-To-Exceed (NTE) Operational Services price per minute rates. For Subcategory 1.3, the total evaluated price, including the Total Price for Operational Services Minutes for Contract Years 1-10 and the proposed Not-to-Exceed Capability Validation Total Price was presented to me, as well as the results of the price analysis of the Offeror’s proposal. Proposed Operational Services price per minute rates that are outside of Contract Years 1-10 were evaluated for price reasonableness only and were not included in calculating the total evaluated price for this subcategory.
The provided estimates reasonably and appropriately take into account the technical complexity of performing the xCislunar DTE services to be acquired, which have not previously been performed.
This subcontract was more grueling than the other two, with a 3 way tie between Intuitive Machines, SSC Space US, and Kongsberg Satellite Services. Ultimately, according to the details provided in the PDFs authored by Kenneth D. Bowersox, the source selection authority on behalf of the SEB and NASA, Kongsberg Satellite Services was seen as less competitive to Intuitive Machines due to the past performance evaluation, as they had rated moderate, as well as the fact that Intuitive Machines had the lowest total evaluated price whereas Kongsberg Satellite Services had the highest total evaluated price, which was significantly higher than either of the other 2 contenders. It is important to note that in this comparison, Bowersox specifically states that Intuitive Machines has an advantage over SSC Space US (and of course Kongsberg Satellite Services, as they did not receive this award). Bowersox specifically states in his conclusion of this 3 way tie that he has "determined that Intuitive Machines, LLC and SSC Space US, Inc.’s proposals provide the best value; Intuitive Machines, LLC and SSC Space US, Inc. both received a High past performance rating, which offers a moderate advantage over Kongsberg Satellite Services AS, and significantly lower and far more advantageous total evaluated prices. Based on its lower Past Performance Rating (Moderate) and significantly higher price, I concluded that Kongsberg Satellite Services AS’s proposal does not provide best value to the Government."
Category 2 isn't included in these documents, to include any of the award postings, except for a short blurb (as seen way above). Category 2 covers moreso the in-space communication and navigation services via in space infrastructure (as opposed to the on ground infrastructure seen in category 1) within the NSN to help alleviate the Deep Space Network and propel the Artemis program further along its current track, the current ultimate goal of these NSN awards. Upon my own research, it seems, according to Sam.GOV, that NASA might still be conducting their research on potential candidates to award category 2 related contracts. Category 2 looks to also be right in the ballpark of what LUNR can provide, given their Khon satellite relay (a constellation of satellites) that they're developing with York Space Systems and exclusively owning and operating themselves in support of data relay in the cislunar and lunar surface exploration, as well as other product and service offerings of theirs. This would be a huge leap to be named again in category 2 contract awards in order to take more money from the $4.82B pot that currently exists for all these contract awards. Regardless of this and my own thoughts, we still have no official communication regarding where category 2 might be headed.
This official award contract by NASA for Intuitive Machines (LUNR) officially cements LUNR as one of their main cornerstones into expanding the government space program for years to come. These awards were previously spoken of in December in the discovered task orders, but didn't have much real specificities of the competition, rating scale, analysis, or much of the pertinent information talked about in this post, and wasn't nearly as official due to the decisions not being brought down from on high. Being attached to subcat 1.2 and 1.3, both heavily involved in near and far off-world & lunar services, showcases the specialty that LUNR has in the sector, especially when poised against other companies and agencies in competition for large sums of ongoing revenue. These awards will also help propel LUNR forward in the commercial sphere, their seemingly main future area of focus, as they develop technology and infrastructure for the government eventually to be used in a more commercial manner.
While we don't yet know the extent of the financial bearings of this contract, or the award decision split, this remains a big positive for the LUNR in all respective accounts, bringing in revenue for potentially many years to come as they assist NASA with their endeavors and propel them to an amazing front spot in this current and future space economy.
Reference links:
Note: For more specific details regarding each of the subcategories, PDFs can be found outlining the specificities on Sam.gov in the included links in the Attachments section.
This relates to the NSN as it's being designed to help facilitate communication & tracking, telemetry, and command up to 2 million kilometers away, far beyond the reach of the moon, to help alleviate the current Deep Space Network. (see and )
(Intuitive Machines Expands Data Transmission Services for Lunar and Deep Space Missions)
(See IV.2 - NASA’s Near Space Network (NSN))
(Intuitive Machines)
(Kongsberg Satellite)
(Viasat)
(SSC Space US)
(Kenneth D. Bowersox)
(Category 1 and 2 Solicitation)