NASA Sets $10 Billion Maximum for Lunar Delivery Framework

NASA set a $10 billion combined ceiling for a 10-year lunar delivery framework, giving eight companies access to future mission competitions while leaving individual order prices and funded obligations unspecified.

The agency announced the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) 2 framework Saturday, Nov. 7, at the MAX POWER event at Kennedy Space Center. Blue Origin, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, iSpace US, Lockheed Martin Space, Northrop Grumman Space Systems, SpaceX and Voyager Technologies are eligible to compete for future deliveries. The maximum applies across the framework; NASA did not disclose prices for future orders.

An earlier CLPS 2.0 plan targeted a $6 billion cap; the new framework has a combined maximum of $10 billion. NASA also increased the value of its existing CLPS 1.0 contract from $2.6 billion to $4.2 billion for initial Moon Base objectives. The contract remains in place through November 2028, with five additional years to complete awarded deliveries through November 2033.

Separately, NASA awarded six launch and orbital-transfer task orders under the Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) program to Arrow Science and Technology, Blue Origin and Impulse Space. The orders have a combined value of about $1.3 billion. The VADR contract has a $5 billion maximum across all contracts.

Blue Origin’s PROMISE rover contract includes a $94 million base award and an additional $140 million option tied to performance. The nuclear-powered rover is to travel to the Moon’s south pole aboard a Mark 1 lander. MiniCAST work covers energy storage by Blue Origin subsidiary Honeybee Robotics, power generation by Redwire and wireless power transfer by Yank Technologies.

NASA selected SpaceX to send communications satellites into cislunar space aboard Starship in 2028. The assignment adds to the companies’ wider lunar work, including SpaceX and Blue Origin’s broader satellite and lunar infrastructure plans.

“We are building the Moon Base mission by mission,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said. The agency’s first phase, focused on robotic missions and technology tests, runs through 2029. Infrastructure deployment is planned for 2029 to 2032, followed by a phase starting in 2032 to integrate habitats and supporting systems for a sustained human presence.

NASA is targeting a late-2028 launch for the 18-month PROMISE rover mission, while the Starship satellite launch is planned for 2028.