WASHINGTON – A NASA competition to launch a cluster of cubesats drew a bid from SpaceX, which appeared to be offering a different vehicle than its current Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy.
NASA released the competition’s source selection statement on March 11 to launch the Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) mission, a group of six cubesats to be launched in three orbital planes in 2022 to study tropical weather systems. NASA awarded Astra a contract to launch on Feb. 26, worth $ 7.95 million.
The agency said in the statement that it received five proposals for the mission last August. In addition to Astra, two other small launcher companies, Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit, submitted bids. A fourth came from Momentus, which provides space-based transport services for satellites launched on rhythm missions.
The fifth bid came from SpaceX, which has a small-scale rideshare program bundling groups of cubesats and other small satellites on Falcon 9 launches. However, the company did not appear to be offering launch services from that program for the TROPICS competition.
In the bidders’ assessment, NASA noted a weakness in SpaceX’s proposal because the company “did not clearly demonstrate progress towards the resolution of the environmental assessment, resulting in a risk associated with obtaining an FAA launch permit,” reducing the likelihood of delays that of contract performance. “
The source selection statement also identified a significant weakness in the “risk-to-launch” approach for the mission, as the company had not updated an integrated master scheme in its original proposal. “As a result, there is significant risk in the proposed launch approach based on the required launch date and current status of the proposed launch vehicle, increasing the likelihood of contract failure.”
Neither criticism seems to apply to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy vehicles currently in use. Both vehicles have launch permits from the Federal Aviation Administration, which has updated an environmental assessment for launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center in July 2020. SpaceX has won a series of contracts to launch larger NASA missions with those vehicles.
An intriguing possibility is that SpaceX instead offered its Starship vehicle under development. That vehicle today only has an FAA take-off license for its current series of sub-orbital test flights. The FAA is also conducting an environmental assessment of the SpaceX site in Boca Chica, Texas, for that vehicle’s orbital launches. The agency recently published a “scoping summary report” with public comments it received during the scoping process of the assessment, but did not publish a schedule for the publication of a draft environmental assessment.
Starship seems too big for TROPICS. When launched with a booster called Super Heavy, Starship can place more than 100 tons in low Earth orbit. However, SpaceX has previously suggested that only the Starship’s top stage could potentially reach orbit, but without significant payload. That could be enough for TROPICS, with a combined mass of about 56 kilograms.
SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment on its proposal for TROPICS.
In the source selection statement, NASA compared SpaceX’s proposal to that of Astra, whose Rocket 3 small launch vehicle is yet to reach orbit, but which the company has stated in space after two test launches. Astra was cited for a weakness in the proposed launch site, citing development and range conflicts. The statement did not disclose the launch site, but in announcing the contract last month, NASA said the launches would take place from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific.
While SpaceX was also at risk at the launch site “with obtaining an FAA launch license in time to support orbital test flights,” NASA concluded that the “risk in its launch approach is based on the required launch date and current status of the proposed launch vehicle. was of greater concern. As a result, the Astra was rated slightly higher than SpaceX in terms of technical and management capabilities. SpaceX’s suggested price was also “slightly higher” than Astra’s offer.
NASA also eliminated Virgin Orbit because the original offer was not within the “competitive range” the agency had drafted, and it was the only bidder not asked to submit an updated proposal, expected Feb. 5. Momentus was disregarded because the proposal did. failed to demonstrate that it could meet all of the requirements of the Launch Services Interface Requirements document, that “the government places an extreme risk of contract failure”.
The competition came down to Astra and Rocket Lab, whose proposal had different strengths, but also a “significantly higher” price point than Astra. NASA concluded that “after assessing the benefits associated with Rocket Lab’s proposal and Astra’s estimated risk in combination with their significantly lower price, the technical benefits do not offset the significant price difference” and chose Astra to launch the TROPICS mission .