Commercial Crew Companies Object to NASA Contract Change

Companies involved in building commercial crew systems with financial support from NASA so far have taken advantage of a type of “other transaction authority” contracting tool called a Space Act Agreement (SAA). Now that the system designs are maturing and NASA needs to levy requirements on what those systems must do, the agency wants to change how they contract with these companies. The companies are not happy about it.

Jeff Foust has an excellent recap of the problems facing NASA and the companies in today’s Space Review. The companies essentially worry that being brought under the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FARs) that government agencies like NASA typically use will sharply increase their costs. NASA feels that it is the only way it can ensure that safety requirements, for example, are met.