MARS TELECOMMUNICATIONS ORBITER

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center has a requirement for a high-performing Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO).  This requirement is for the full-scale development, integration, launch and on-orbit operations of an MTO, which can provide robust, continuous communications for a Mars Sample Return (MSR), future Mars surface, orbital and human explorations missions.  It will support autonomous operations, onboard processing, and extended mission duration capabilities.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), officially Public Law 119-21, was signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025.   The bill mandates NASA use a competitive process, and award a firm fixed-price contract with a U.S. commercial provider.

Additionally, the OBBBA restricted the eligibility to U.S. companies that participated in NASA-funded Mars Sample Return (MSR) design studies in FY2024 or FY2025.    As a result, the companies identified below are eligible to compete for the MTO requirement:

• Blue Origin
• L3Harris
• Lockheed Martin
• Northrop Grumman
• Rocket Lab
• SpaceX,
• Quantum Space
• Whittinghill Aerospace

In compliance with the OBBBA, NASA/GSFC will only conduct a competition among vendors that satisfy the statutory qualifications.   The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302- 1(a)(2) “ . . .For DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard, this authority extends to situations where only a limited number of responsible sources can satisfy agency requirements”.  Furthermore,  Congress explicitly identified this specific pool of “original sources” in 51 U.S.C. 20306 (a)(1)(iii)(I).  By limiting competition to this pool, NASA is fulfilling the legislative mandate while utilizing the established authority under FAR Part 6.  Other firms would not comply with the specific statutory requirement imposed by the OBBBA requirements. 

As a result, NASA/GSFC will not consider any capability statements from other interested organizations not included in the OBBBA, nor will a capability statement be required from the statutorily identified OBBBA vendors.  Oral communications will not be accepted in response to this notice.

NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found a https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf.