Spaceflight Selected by NASA to Support Future Dedicated and Rideshare Missions

Spaceflight Inc., the leading global launch services provider, was selected by NASA to provide launch services for the agency’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) missions. Spaceflight and 11 other companies selected will support missions designed to provide new opportunities for science and technology payloads and foster a growing U.S. launch market.

Spaceflight has a long-standing relationship with NASA, coordinating the launch of more than 20 payloads for the organization over the years. With more than a decade of experience providing comprehensive launch, mission management, and in-space transportation services, Spaceflight has launched nearly 400 satellites, ranging from CubeSats to a 700-kilogram satellite, across about 40 missions. In 2021 alone, Spaceflight launched 81 spacecraft across 11 different missions via a global launch vehicle network.

“We are incredibly excited to announce the awardees for VADR from a broad range of established and emerging launch providers and launch service aggregators and brokers,” Bradley Smith, director of launch services at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Spaceflight’s newest arrangement with NASA, the VADR missions, establishes a contract between Spaceflight and NASA with fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity and a five-year ordering period. The maximum total value across all the contracts is $300 million.

“We are honored to be among the companies selected to support NASA’s VADR missions,” said Valerie Skarupa, director of government business at Spaceflight. “Through our range of services and diverse portfolio of launch options, we can offer flexibility and customization for NASA’s upcoming missions. With this contract in place, we’ll be able to expedite timelines to get payloads exactly where they need to be when they need to be there.”

Spaceflight has relationships with all commercially available launch vehicles, uniquely positioning the company to identify and secure launches that meet customers’ specific mission needs. Additionally, as one of only three organizations to launch an orbital transfer vehicle, Spaceflight can leverage its suite of Sherpa-NG vehicles to deliver payloads to the exact orbit necessary for mission success.

Smith also noted that the organization “crafted VADR to maximize our efforts in enabling a growing U.S launch industry. With this new tool in our toolbox, these tremendously flexible contracts will meet a wide variety of NASA science and technology needs, further enhancing the agency’s Launch Services Program’s reputation as Earth’s bridge to space.”