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40-515: SpaceX CRS-15 , also known as SpX-15 , was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station launched 29 June 2018 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The mission was contracted by NASA and flown by SpaceX . In early 2015, NASA awarded a contract extension to SpaceX for three additional CRS missions ( CRS-13 to CRS-15). In June 2016, a NASA Inspector General report had this mission manifested for April 2018, but this

80-599: A Latching End Effector for Canadarm2 . CubeSats included on this flight were three Biarri-Squad satellites built by Boeing for a multinational partnership led by the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, and three satellites making up the Japanese-sponsored Birds-2 program: BHUTAN-1 from Bhutan, Maya-1 from the Philippines, and UiTMSAT-1 from Malaysia. Furthermore, it contained an interactive artwork by artist Nahum entitled The Contour of Presence,

120-458: A Dragon capsule's ability to remain in orbit, receive and respond to ground commands, and communicate with NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System . On 15 August 2011, SpaceX announced that NASA had combined the objectives of the COTS Demo Flight 2 and following Flight 3 into a single mission. The rescoped COTS Demo Flight 2 successfully launched on 22 May 2012, delivering cargo to

160-910: A collaboration with the International Space University , Space Application Services and the European Space Agency . The following is a breakdown of cargo bound for the ISS: Commercial Resupply Services The first phase of CRS contracts (CRS-1) were signed in 2008 and awarded $ 1.6 billion to SpaceX for twelve Dragon 1 and $ 1.9 billion to Orbital Sciences for eight Cygnus flights, covering deliveries to 2016. The first operational resupply missions were flown by SpaceX in 2012 ( CRS SpX-1 ) and Orbital in 2014 ( CRS Orb-1 ). In 2015, NASA extended CRS-1 to twenty flights for SpaceX and twelve flights for Orbital ATK . A second phase of contracts ( CRS-2 )

200-528: A combined, not-to-exceed value of $ 14 billion. NASA officials explained that selecting three companies rather than two for CRS-2 increases cargo capabilities and ensures more redundancy in the event of a contractor failure or schedule delay. The CRS-2 flights commenced in November 2019 with the launch of Cygnus NG-12 mission. Inside-cargo is typically transported to and from the space station in "the form factor of single Cargo Transfer Bag Equivalent (CTBE) [which

240-559: A competitive range determination to remove Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Orbital ATK (later purchased by Northrop Grumman), Sierra Nevada, and SpaceX were awarded CRS-2 contracts in January 2016 with initial task orders awarded in June 2016. Each of the three companies is guaranteed at least six cargo missions under the CRS-2 contract. As of December 2017, NASA had awarded $ 2.6 billion on three contracts with

280-404: A contract to Kistler Aerospace (which later became Rocketplane Kistler) for $ 227 million, despite the fact that Kistler had already filed for bankruptcy a year before. Some observers saw this as a gift for the head of Kistler, NASA legend George Mueller . This upset Elon Musk , as there had not been a competition and Musk could have used the funding at SpaceX . Musk protested, and NASA withdrew

320-412: A program for ISS services in the mid 1990s entitled "Alt Access" for Alternate Access. While NASA funded Alt Access no further than preliminary studies, this program convinced numerous entrepreneurs that ISS could emerge as a significant market opportunity. After years of keeping orbital transport for human spaceflight in-house, NASA concluded that firms in a free market could develop and operate such

360-501: A result Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Northrop Grumman was left with only two remaining Antares 230+ launch vehicles which were used for the CRS NG-18 and CRS NG-19 missions. Northrop Grumman acquired three flights from SpaceX with the Falcon 9 rocket while a replacement first stage and its engine are developed for its Antares 330 rocket. Northrop Grumman plans to launch further missions using

400-565: A suitable launcher. In May 2006, NASA selected six semifinalist proposals for further evaluation: SpaceX , Andrews Space , Transformational Space Corp. , Rocketplane Kistler ("RpK"), Spacehab , and SpaceDev . On 18 August 2006, NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) announced that SpaceX and Rocketplane Kistler won Phase I of the COTS program. NASA planned to engage winners in funded Space Act agreements through 2010. On 8 November 2006 RpK and ATK announced that ATK would become

440-468: A system more efficiently and affordably than a government bureaucracy . The then NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin stated that without affordable Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS), the agency will not have enough funds remaining to achieve the objectives of the Vision for Space Exploration . In November 2005, Dr. Griffin articulated that: Furthermore, if such services were unavailable by

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480-591: Is considerably less. CRS-2 launches commenced in 2019 and will extend to at least 2024. Three more CRS-2 missions for Dragon 2 covering up to CRS-29 were announced in December 2020. When NASA issued the Commercial Resupply Services phase 2 (CRS-2) request for proposal (RFP) in September 2014, it received interest from five companies: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Orbital ATK, Sierra Nevada, and SpaceX. NASA made

520-668: Is similar to COTS and, along with CRS, falls under NASA's Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office (C3PO). Unlike any previous NASA project, the proposed spacecraft were intended to be owned and financed primarily by the companies themselves and were designed to serve both U.S. government agencies and commercial customers. NASA will contract for missions as its needs become clear. This was more challenging than existent commercial space transportation because it required precision orbit insertion , rendezvous and possibly docking with another spacecraft. The private spaceflight vendors were competing for four specific service areas: NASA explored

560-470: Is the] unit for size of bag used to transport cargo from visiting vehicles , such as SpaceX Dragon , Northrop Grumman Cygnus , or JAXA H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). The bags are sized at 48 cm × 41 cm × 23 cm (19 in × 16.25 in × 9 in) and limited in transport mass to 27 kg (60 lb) each. CTBE units are also used to price, and charge, commercial users of US Orbital Segment stowage space. As

600-529: The Automated Transfer Vehicle , to be jointly developed with Thales Alenia Space . Three companies were awarded contracts on January 14, 2016. Sierra Nevada Corporation 's Dream Chaser , the SpaceX Dragon 2 , and Orbital ATK Cygnus were selected, each for a minimum of six launches. The maximum potential value of all the contracts was indicated to be $ 14 billion, but the minimum value

640-558: The International Space Station (ISS). Launched in 2006, COTS successfully concluded in 2013 after completing all demonstration flights. NASA's final report on the program considered it a success and a model for future public-private collaboration. Compared to traditional cost-plus contracts employed by NASA, such as the $ 12 billion contract for the Orion spacecraft , the $ 800 million COTS investment resulted in "two new U.S. medium-class launch vehicles and two automated cargo spacecraft". After

680-658: The 2000s funding was authorized for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, followed by the Commercial Crew Development program. On 23 December 2008, NASA announced the initial awarding of cargo contracts - twelve flights to SpaceX and eight flights to Orbital Sciences Corporation . PlanetSpace , which was not selected, submitted a protest to the Government Accountability Office . On 22 April 2009,

720-424: The COTS program including the controlling of the development program using Space Act Agreements (SAA), with lessons for future programs. More than twenty organizations had submitted COTS proposals by March 2006. NASA received new COTS proposals from at least seven firms by 21 November 2007. On 22 December 2008, NASA stated they would discuss the contract selection to provide commercial cargo resupply services for

760-559: The CRS-15 mission from SpaceX and therefore determined the primary payload, date/time of launch, and orbital parameters for the Dragon space capsule . According to a NASA mission overview, CRS-15 carried a total of 2,697 kg (5,946 lb) of total cargo, divided between 1,712 kg (3,774 lb) of pressurized material and 985 kg (2,172 lb) of unpressurized cargo. The external payloads manifested for this flight were ECOSTRESS and

800-516: The Dream Chaser spaceplane itself. Boeing's proposal likewise used a cargo version of its CST-100 crew vehicle. Lockheed Martin proposed a new cargo spacecraft called Jupiter , derived from the designs of the NASA's MAVEN and Juno spacecraft. It would have included a robotic arm based on Canadarm technology and a 4.4-meter (14 ft) diameter cargo transport module called Exoliner based on

840-447: The GAO publicly released its decision to deny the protest, allowing the program to continue. The Antares and Falcon 9 launch vehicles and Cygnus and Dragon cargo spacecraft were developed using Space Act Agreements under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The first flight contracted by NASA, COTS Demo Flight 1 , took place on 8 December 2010, demonstrating

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880-682: The ISS. The spacecraft reentered on 31 May, landed in the Pacific Ocean, and was recovered, completed CRS certification requirements. Orbital Sciences first launched the Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on 21 April 2013 with a test payload. Orbital Sciences completed the Cygnus Orb-D1 demonstration flight on 29 September 2013, and the operational Cygnus CRS Orb-1

920-472: The International Space Station. NASA announced the awarding of contracts to both SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation in a press conference on 23 December 2008. The contracts include a minimum of 20 missions, 12 missions for SpaceX ($ 1.6 Billion) and 8 missions for Orbital Sciences ($ 1.9 Billion). PlanetSpace submitted a protest to the Government Accountability Office after receiving

960-533: The announcement date set to 7 February. Several sources later suggested that Boeing and not Andrews was a final contestant. On 19 February 2008, the second round selection was made to Orbital Sciences Corporation , for the Cygnus spacecraft . NASA's selection statement showed that Orbital beat Boeing on expected lower costs and the added benefit of a new medium lift launcher Taurus II with Andrews, PlanetSpace and Spacehab being eliminated on funding concerns. Following

1000-471: The companies to develop their proposed vehicles. On 22 October 2007, NASA solicited proposals for the $ 175 million in unawarded first round funds. Some of the new contenders who entered before the deadline in November 2007 for the funding were Spacehab , t/Space , Andrews Space , PlanetSpace and SpaceDev . In January 2008 industry sources claimed that the field had been downselected to four; Spacehab, Andrews Space, PlanetSpace and Orbital Sciences, with

1040-418: The conclusion of the COTS program, NASA shifted towards fixed-price contracts for crew and cargo services. While the approach has significantly lowered costs for NASA, companies other than SpaceX have struggled under the fixed-price system, with some refusing to bid and others experiencing large losses on contracts. COTS contracts were awarded to SpaceX and Rocketplane Kistler , but the latter's agreement

1080-636: The contract to Kistler after hearing that the Government Accountability Office planned to issue a ruling in support of Musk. NASA returned to the planning phase, and this eventually resulted in the COTS competition. Boeing may have submitted a proposal in conjunction with Arianespace to launch the ESA ATV module on a Delta IV rocket. Whereas the ESA launches the ATV on an Ariane 5, the two companies worked together to make this proposal. The ATV can carry up to 7.6 metric tons with

1120-605: The end of 2010, NASA would have been forced to purchase orbital transportation services on foreign spacecraft such as the Russian Federal Space Agency 's Soyuz and Progress spacecraft , the European Space Agency 's Automated Transfer Vehicle , or the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency 's H-II Transfer Vehicle since NASA's own Crew Exploration Vehicle , since refocused, would not have been ready until 2014. In 2007 NASA asserted that once COTS

1160-634: The first phase of COTS prove successful. On 22 May 2012, Bill Gerstenmaier confirmed that NASA was no longer purchasing any cargo resupply services from Russia and would rely solely on the American CRS vehicles, the SpaceX Dragon and Orbital Sciences' Cygnus ; with the exception of a few vehicle-specific payloads delivered on the European ATV and the Japanese HTV . In February 2004, NASA awarded

1200-486: The introduction of a larger Enhanced Cygnus, enabled Orbital ATK to cover their initial CRS contracted payload obligation by OA-7. During August 2015, Orbital ATK disclosed that they had received an extension of the resupply program for four extra missions. These flights enable NASA to cover ISS resupply needs until CRS-2 begins. NASA began a formal process to initiate Phase 2 of the Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-2, in early 2014. Later that year, an "Industry Day"

1240-617: The lead contractor for the K-1. NASA terminated the COTS agreement with RpK in September 2007 after NASA warned RpK that it had failed to raise sufficient private funding by 31 July 2007 deadline, freeing up $ 175 million from the COTS budget to be awarded to another company or companies. By 18 June 2007, NASA had signed separate non-reimbursable Space Act Agreements with three additional firms, Constellation Services International (CSI), SpaceDev and Spacehab. These agreements included no financial support, however NASA agreed to share information to help

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1280-484: The new Antares 300 series (Antares 330) rockets with booster stage and engines developed by Firefly Aerospace . These missions are also slated to use a new enlarged "Mission B" variant of the Cygnus spacecraft. Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Commercial Orbital Transportation Services ( COTS ) was a NASA program to spur the development of private spacecraft and launch vehicles for deliveries to

1320-406: The original $ 500M Space Act Agreement, an additional $ 288M in "augmentation" funding was awarded to the two contractors before the demonstration flights. The COTS program was successfully concluded in November 2013 after two companies, SpaceX and Orbital Sciences, designed, built and launched "a pair of new spacecraft on rockets that also were newly designed". NASA has published its own history of

1360-612: Was held in Houston, with seven high-level requirements disclosed to interested parties. The contracts were expected to include a variety of requirements: CRS-1 contractors Orbital Sciences and SpaceX each submitted CRS-2 proposals, joined by Sierra Nevada , Boeing , and Lockheed Martin . SNC's proposal would use a cargo version of its Dream Chaser crew vehicle, the 'Dream Chaser Cargo System'. The proposed cargo Dream Chaser included an additional expendable cargo module for uplift and trash disposal. Downmass would only be provided via

1400-450: Was launched 9 January 2014. Transport flights began under Commercial Resupply Services phase 1 (CRS-1) in 2012: Following the failure, the Antares 230 system was upgraded with newly built RD-181 first-stage engines to provide greater payload performance and increased reliability. The next two spacecraft were launched on the Atlas V . With the switch to more powerful launch vehicles and

1440-422: Was operational, it would no longer procure Russian cargo delivery services. NASA anticipates that COTS services to ISS will be necessary through at least 2015. NASA projects at most a half-dozen COTS flights a year that would transport 10 tonnes annually. The NASA Administrator has suggested that space transportation services procurement may be expanded to orbital fuel depots and lunar surface deliveries should

1480-562: Was pushed back, first to 6 June, to 9 June, to 28 June and finally to 29 June 2018. The mission launched on 29 June 2018 at 09:42  UTC aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 40 . The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft rendezvoused with the International Space Station on 2 July 2018. It was captured by the Canadarm2 at 10:54 UTC and was berthed to the Harmony node at 13:50 UTC. On 3 August 2018, Dragon

1520-458: Was released from ISS at 16:38 UTC and deorbited, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean approximately 5 hours later at 22:17 UTC, returning more than 1,700 kg (3,748 lb) of cargo to Earth. It is reported that the Dragon spacecraft may have experienced some parachute anomaly during its flight to the ISS, but it did not prevent the capsule from successful splashdown. NASA contracted for

1560-519: Was solicited in 2014. CRS-2 contracts were awarded in January 2016 to Orbital ATK’s continued use of Cygnus , Sierra Nevada Corporation ’s new Dream Chaser , and SpaceX’s new Dragon 2 , for cargo transport flights beginning in 2019 and expected to last through 2024. NASA has been directed to pursue commercial spaceflight options since at least 1984, with the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 and Launch Services Purchase Act of 1990. By

1600-569: Was terminated due to insufficient progress. Orbital Sciences Corporation replaced Rocketplane Kistler in the program in 2008. COTS differs from the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program, which procured cargo delivery services using the COTS developed vehicles. COTS employed Space Act Agreements with milestone-based payments, while CRS utilizes binding contracts with strict performance obligations. The Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program, focusing on crew transportation,

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