NASA has awarded contracts to eight aerospace firms for Rapid Spacecraft Acquisition III spacecraft and related services. Each contractor has one or more core spacecraft offerings available under its Rapid III contract.

All fixed price indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity Rapid III contracts have a combined potential maximum value of $4 billion. The contractors selected for award of Rapid III contracts are:

• Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp in Boulder, Colorado
• General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems in Gilbert, Arizona
• Lockheed Martin Corporation in Denver, Colorado Orbital Sciences Corp. in Dulles, Virginia
• Surrey Satellite Technology US LLC in Englewood, Colorado
• Northrop Grumman Space & Mission Systems Corp in Redondo Beach, California
• Thales Alenia Space Italia in Rome, Italy
• Thales Alenia Space in France

Rapid III is a multiple-award contract that provides a rapid and flexible means for the government to acquire spacecraft and related services in support of science and technology needs. The selected contractors are now eligible to compete for future spacecraft systems that NASA or other federal government agencies may require. The principle purpose of the Rapid III contract is to provide core spacecraft systems with any necessary modifications to meet specific mission needs. The baseline scope of work includes design and development of the core spacecraft, testing, payload integration and test, launch operations support, and on-orbit checkout. The principle work will be performed at the contractor's facility with additional work required at the government launch site. Additional opportunities to receive Rapid III contracts will be available in the future. Qualified vendors may respond to periodic opportunities that will be announced during the five-year contract period.