NASA's draft RFP for commercial space stations sets a 2029 crewed-flight deadline

NASA released the draft request for proposals for the second phase of its commercial space station program: providers design, build and operate their own stations while NASA buys astronaut time and research capacity as a customer. Structure: firm-fixed-price, multi-award IDIQ contracts to two or more companies, with a competitive task order for final design and certification — and a requirement that any station hosting NASA astronauts support a crewed flight test by 2029, ahead of ISS retirement in 2030. Industry feedback is due July 27, the final RFP lands in late August, and awards are expected in spring 2027.

Why it matters

This is the demand contract the whole commercial-station sector has been designing against, and the 2029 crewed-test bar is aggressive by design — NASA wants no gap in which China's Tiangong is the only crewed outpost in orbit. The bar favors whoever is furthest along in flight hardware (Vast's Haven program has been racing exactly this clock) and effectively prices out paper stations: two-plus awards, but only for teams that can fly crew inside three years.

What to watch

Which teams bid by the ~60-day proposal window after August, and whether the 2029 requirement survives industry feedback intact.