VADR Task Order Awards

NASA currently is working with several commercial companies as part of the agency’s VADR (Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) launch services contract, providing new opportunities for science, and technology payloads.

Building on NASA’s previous procurement efforts to foster development of a growing U.S. commercial launch market, VADR provides Federal Aviation Administration -licensed commercial launch services for payloads that can tolerate higher risk. By using a lower level of mission assurance and commercial best practices for launching rockets, these highly flexible contracts help broaden access to space through lower launch costs.

Some of the task orders under the VADR contract include launch services for CubeSat missions. CubeSats are a class of nanosatellites that use a standard size and form factor. The standard CubeSat size uses a “one unit” or “1U” measuring 10x10x10 centimeters and is extendable to larger sizes; 1.5, 2, 3, 6, and even 12U. A CubeSat typically weighs less than 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) per unit.

Given the standardized size of these CubeSats, some of the CubeSats missions have streamlined requirements that makes them ideal candidates as rideshares, but manifests and launch dates are subject to change for these missions. This flexibility is one of the reasons NASA can cost-efficiently secure launch services for these small satellites.

Awards Updates:

Standard Launch Services Task Order Releases

INCUS
QuickSounder
TRACERS
PREFIRE
ESCAPADE
TROPICS
TSIS-2

Streamlined CubeSat Launch Services Task Order Announcements

2024

Date	Provider	Payload
Dec. 6	SpaceX	6U CubeSat
Dec. 6	SpaceX	3U CubeSat
Dec. 6	SpaceX	6U CubeSat
Dec. 6	SEOPS	6U CubeSat
Dec. 6	SpaceX	6U CubeSat

2023

Date	Provider	Payload
Dec. 13	SEOPS	Two 6U CubeSats
Dec. 13	SpaceX	6U CubeSat
Dec. 13	SpaceX	6U CubeSat
June 13	SpaceX	Two CubeSats

Date	Provider	Payload
Nov. 25	Phantom Space Corp.	Four task orders to launch four CubeSats