Last week, NASA laid out a vision for a lunar base that’s built and supplied through monthly uncrewed lunar landings, with launches beginning as soon as next year.It’s no surprise that CLPS companies are raring to go.
“This was an opportunity bomb,” Intuitive Machines CTO Tim Crain told Payload.
Step back: NASA announced the launch of CLPS 2.0 event on March 24, with details released in a draft RFP. The second phase of the commercial lunar delivery service is expected to include:
- More support from NASA subject matter experts, to help companies succeed;
- Bigger landers and rovers designed to carry more to the lunar surface;
- A 10-year ordering period, for missions to be launched at a faster cadence;
- A $6B budget cap.
The draft RFP also asks companies to describe whether their landers are prepared to carry radioactive heating and power sources to survive the lunar night, and what it would take to return 2 kg to Earth.
Industry on board: Payload spoke with leadership from three CLPS providers—Astrobotic Technology, Firefly Aerospace, and Intuitive Machines—about what the changes mean for their companies. Spoiler alert: All three are super excited.
“We’re pumped about it, because it’s a recognition that the things we were already doing at Firefly are on the right track,” Firefly CEO Jason Kim told Payload. Firefly can make multiple landers a year, instead of one, due to an expansion of the company’s clean rooms for lunar landers.
Intuitive Machines’ Crain commended NASA for its “Apollo practicality”—and the willingness to change even long-standing programs, if they’re not working.
“The overarching message is, we want partners who deliver…That came through loud and clear,” he said. “And nothing is off-limits that they won’t change.”
Astrobotic CEO John Thornton commended NASA for narrowing the field of companies competing in CLPS, saying that the first phase of the program that included potential 13 vendors—not all of whom have been awarded spaceflights—are “a distraction.”
“Imagine if there were 15 launch vehicle companies trying to go for a small market. It doesn’t pencil out,” he said. “That is how you get costs to come down further—a small group that can be more vertically integrated.”
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Phantom Space today announced the acquisition of Thermal Management Technologies (TMT), a company that builds advanced satellite thermal components for in-space applications.
With the acquisition, the AZ-based rocket and satellite developer is aiming to spur development of its in-orbit data center constellation—called Phantom Cloud—which is targeting an initial deployment in mid-2027.
Under the agreement, TMT will operate as a subsidiary of Phantom, with founder Scott Schick staying on as the company’s general manager. TMT will also collaborate with Phantom to develop Block 1 Phantom Cloud sats. The companies did not announce the terms of the deal.
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