NASA cuts Boeing from ISS competition

NASA on Thursday dropped Boeing from its competition for contracts to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, but delayed a decision on who would win the awards worth up to $14 billion.

Again revising a schedule that has been pushed back several times this year, the space agency said it would announce by early next year the winners of the next Commercial Resupply Services contracts, known as CRS2 for short.

“CRS2 is a complex procurement,” said Dan Huot, a spokesman at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. “The anticipated award date has been revised to no later than Jan. 30, 2016, to allow time to complete a thorough proposal evaluation and selection.”

The contracts will establish the fleet of U.S. craft that resupply the station from 2018 to 2024.

The remaining competitors appear to be SpaceX and Orbital ATK, the two incumbents under the first round of CRS contracts, and Sierra Nevada Corp.

Boeing confirmed that it received notice from NASA on Thursday that its bid has been eliminated.

The company continues to develop its CST-100 Starliner capsule to fly astronauts to the ISS under a Commercial Crew Program contract won last year, along with SpaceX.

Sierra Nevada, whose Dream Chaser mini-shuttle lost out in that crew competition, said NASA has asked the company to re-open discussions about its cargo bid as one of the “offerors in the competitive range.”

Orbital ATK also confirmed it is “still competing” for another cargo contract. The company is preparing for a Dec. 3 launch from Cape Canaveral of a Cygnus cargo spacecraft as part of its existing contract.

SpaceX declined to comment. The company is targeting an early January launch of its next resupply mission from Cape Canaveral.

A new system proposed by Lockheed Martin reportedly already had been dropped from consideration.

The company, however, has not conceded defeat, saying its Jupiter spacecraft and Exoliner module would benefit not only the ISS but exploration beyond low Earth orbit.

“We feel that our proposal offers value today through affordable, high-capacity space station resupply, and a path forward for tomorrow, through technologies that will power future human deep-space missions,” said spokeswoman Allison Rakes.

All the competitors would launch their cargo missions from the Space Coast except for Orbital ATK, which by mid-next year plans to resume launches from Virginia with a redesigned Antares rocket.

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com . And follow on Twitter at @flatoday_jdean and on Facebook at facebook.com/jamesdeanspace .

MORE: Florida Today space industry news