NASA issues long-awaited call to industry for private space stations

NASA on Friday released a much-anticipated “request” to the US commercial space industry to develop private space stations that, as early as 2030, will succeed the International Space Station as a place for astronauts to live in low-Earth orbit. In a cover letter accompanying the 360-page “request for proposals,” NASA stated its plan: “This will ensure NASA has a sustained human presence in LEO for crew members to perform science and exploration.”

美国国家航空航天局（NASA）周五向美国商业航天工业发布了一份备受期待的“请求”，旨在开发私人空间站。这些空间站最早将于2030年取代国际空间站，成为宇航员在近地轨道生活的新场所。在随附于这份360页“提案请求”的求职信中，NASA阐述了其计划：“这将确保NASA在近地轨道拥有持续的人类存在，供机组成员进行科学研究和探索。”

Several private companies that have worked for years on designing and developing such stations have been keen to learn exactly what capabilities NASA is seeking. These new documents finally provide some answers. NASA’s solicitation can be found here. Industry responses are due back to NASA on December 8. NASA said it plans to select “two or more” contractors in this phase of the competition, and intends to make a final decision in April.

几家多年来一直致力于设计和开发此类空间站的私营公司，一直渴望了解NASA究竟需要什么样的能力。这些新文件终于提供了一些答案。NASA的招标书可在此处找到。行业反馈需在12月8日前提交给NASA。NASA表示，计划在此阶段的竞争中选择“两家或更多”承包商，并打算在4月份做出最终决定。

“We’ve made it clear that NASA will never give up its presence in low Earth orbit,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement that accompanied the release of the new documents. “We will continue to need a place to conduct research, develop technologies, train crews, and prepare for missions to the Moon and Mars. Commercial space stations may provide that capability while creating new opportunities for American industry and allowing NASA to concentrate more of our resources on the near-impossible missions ahead.”

“我们已经明确表示，NASA绝不会放弃在近地轨道的存在，”NASA局长贾里德·艾萨克曼（Jared Isaacman）在随新文件发布的一份声明中表示。“我们将继续需要一个场所来进行研究、开发技术、训练机组人员，并为前往月球和火星的任务做准备。商业空间站可以提供这种能力，同时为美国工业创造新的机会，并使NASA能够将更多资源集中在未来近乎不可能完成的任务上。”

Bidders for this funding phase will certainly include Axiom Space, Voyager Space, and Vast Space. Blue Origin won an earlier round of funding from NASA, but questions remain about the company’s commitment to the program. SpaceX appears unlikely to bid, at least for now. Phase 1 winners will be guaranteed at least $100 million. Future phases of the contract will be worth billions.

参与本阶段资金竞标的公司肯定包括Axiom Space、Voyager Space和Vast Space。蓝色起源（Blue Origin）此前赢得了NASA的一轮早期资助，但外界对其在该项目上的投入程度仍存疑。SpaceX目前似乎不太可能参与竞标。第一阶段的获胜者将获得至少1亿美元的保证资金。合同的后续阶段价值将达数十亿美元。

NASA said Phase 2 of this “Commercial LEO Destinations” competition, kicking off next year, will include funding for development and certification of space stations, and Phase 3 will include the purchase of at least four missions for NASA astronauts to the private space stations. But how to get there? One of the most closely watched elements of the NASA request was its provisions for crewed transportation to the stations.

NASA表示，将于明年启动的“商业近地轨道目的地”竞争第二阶段将包括空间站开发和认证的资金，第三阶段将包括为NASA宇航员购买至少四次前往私人空间站的任务。但如何到达那里呢？NASA请求中最受关注的要素之一是其关于载人往返空间站的规定。

In earlier discussions with potential space station providers, NASA had indicated it may leave acquiring transportation to the contractors—basically saying it was their responsibility to sell an end-to-end service to the space agency. This is problematic because SpaceX has said it plans to retire the Crew Dragon spacecraft as soon as possible, and almost certainly when the International Space Station is deorbited in 2030 or 2032.

在与潜在空间站供应商的早期讨论中，NASA曾表示可能会将交通运输的获取留给承包商——基本上是说，向航天局出售端到端服务是他们的责任。这存在问题，因为SpaceX已表示计划尽快退役载人龙飞船（Crew Dragon），几乎可以肯定是在2030年或2032年国际空间站脱离轨道时。

SpaceX, which has the only operational US vehicle for such transportation, has not offered to sell seats to private space station operators. This led NASA, two weeks ago, to provide an additional $359 million to support Boeing’s ongoing efforts to certify its Starliner spacecraft for crewed missions to low-Earth orbit. But in the new request for proposals (RFP), the space agency goes further in support of would-be space station operators.

SpaceX拥有美国唯一可用于此类运输的现役载具，但并未提出向私人空间站运营商出售席位。这促使NASA在两周前额外提供了3.59亿美元，以支持波音公司（Boeing）继续努力为其星际客机（Starliner）进行近地轨道载人任务认证。但在新的提案请求（RFP）中，该航天局在支持潜在空间站运营商方面走得更远。

As part of their bids, contractors do not need to provide proof of a signed contract with Boeing (or another transportation provider), or even a letter of intent. NASA is even offering to “furnish” transportation for the first four NASA service missions to the private stations, likely meaning it will help broker deals between the private companies and Boeing.

作为投标的一部分，承包商无需提供与波音（或其他运输提供商）签署合同的证明，甚至不需要意向书。NASA甚至提出为前往私人空间站的前四次NASA服务任务“提供”交通工具，这可能意味着它将帮助促成私营公司与波音之间的交易。

Notably, in the new documents, NASA assigns an explicit price to crew and cargo missions. For 2030, it estimates a four-seat crew flight will cost $325 million, and a cargo flight $300 million. In offering to furnish these initial flights, NASA is taking a significant burden off private space station providers, which are already undertaking a challenging task in constructing, testing, and flying orbital space stations.

值得注意的是，在这些新文件中，NASA为载人任务和货运任务设定了明确的价格。对于2030年，它估计四座载人飞行任务的成本为3.25亿美元，货运飞行任务为3亿美元。通过提供这些初始飞行任务，NASA减轻了私人空间站供应商的重大负担，这些供应商在建造、测试和运行轨道空间站方面已经承担了极具挑战性的任务。

The potential bidders were still reviewing the lengthy proposal on Friday afternoon, but several offered their initial thoughts on the new NASA documents. “The release of the RFP is an important milestone,” Marshall Smith, the chief executive of Voyager’s Starlab space station, said. “We appreciate that NASA has incorporated both industry and government feedback. We believe Starlab has the strongest business plan and technical solution to be America’s next space station and we look forward to competing.”

周五下午，潜在竞标者仍在审阅这份冗长的提案，但有几家公司对NASA的新文件发表了初步看法。“RFP的发布是一个重要的里程碑，”Voyager旗下Starlab空间站的首席执行官马歇尔·史密斯（Marshall Smith）表示。“我们感谢NASA采纳了行业和政府的反馈。我们相信Starlab拥有最强大的商业计划和技术解决方案，能够成为美国的下一个空间站，我们期待参与竞争。”

Axiom Space said it also welcomed the release of the final RFP. “Our team is actively reviewing the RFP now and is energized for the next steps in the process,” an Axiom Space spokesperson said. “With years of experience executing human space flight missions and developing orbital hardware, we are confident the proposal we provide NASA will demonstrate that Axiom Space is the clear choice to meet NASA’s objectives in low-Earth orbit.”

Axiom Space也表示欢迎最终RFP的发布。“我们的团队目前正在积极审阅RFP，并对流程的下一步充满活力，”Axiom Space的一位发言人说。“凭借多年执行载人航天任务和开发轨道硬件的经验，我们有信心向NASA提交的提案将证明Axiom Space是实现NASA近地轨道目标的明确选择。”

Vast, too, said it was prepared to move forward with the competition. “Vast looks forward to competing for the opportunity to build the commercial successor to the ISS,” a company spokesperson said. “We’re in final integration with Haven-1 and ready to keep building towards a multi-module station capable of supporting a continuous human presence.”

Vast也表示已准备好推进竞争。“Vast期待竞争建造国际空间站商业继任者的机会，”该公司发言人表示。“我们正在对Haven-1进行最终集成，并准备继续向能够支持人类持续存在的模块化空间站迈进。”