Nichols Martin
France- and Italy-based businesses of Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales and Leonardo, have landed spots on a potential $6 billion multiple-award contract vehicle for spacecraft systems and support services through an on-ramp solicitation process.
The new awardees on the potential $6 billion Rapid Spacecraft Acquisition IV contract will perform work at facilities located in the French city of Cannes and in Rome, the agency said Saturday.
NASA issued the on-ramp award nearly eight months after its original selection of five aerospace companies to participate in the RAPID IV program.
The first group of contractors are Ball Aerospace, Maxar Technologies (NYSE: MAXR), Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), Southwest Research Institute and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems
According to NASA, the on-ramp contracting procedure is intended to give new vendors the chance to offer spacecraft designs that may demonstrate potential to support government missions.
