Editor’s Note: This page was updated to reflect an update to the pricing policy for Private Astronaut Missions.
NASA has reserved a set amount of International Space Station resources intended to serve Commercial and Marketing Activities. The International Space Station resources identified in Figure A are:
- Available for purchase;
- Shall be provided only on a non-interference basis; and
- Subject to change if crew safety (including Private Astronauts), vehicle safety, and/or mission objectives are at risk.
All commercial and marketing activities that use space station resources shall require a reimbursable space act agreement (RSAA) or another arrangement with NASA to recover costs to NASA. U.S entities may not resell purchased resources under any circumstances.
NASA is restricted from competing with the U.S. private sector; therefore, if, at any point, a U.S. entity is available to provide any of these resources, NASA shall, to the best of its ability, migrate the provision of such services to the non-U.S. government provider.
Since the release of the initial pricing policy in June 2019, there has been a growing demand for commercial and marketing activities from both traditional aerospace companies and from novel industries. The pricing policy from June 2019 did not reflect full reimbursement for the value of NASA resources; it was intended to stimulate the market and was planned to be adjusted. Based on discussions with stakeholders, the current market growth, and in anticipation of future commercial entities capable of providing similar services, NASA has updated the commercial use activities pricing policy in Table A and the private astronaut missions pricing policy in Table B effective immediately.
The new pricing for commercial use activities reflects full reimbursement for the value of NASA resources and applies to proposals submitted under NASA Research Announcement (NRA) NNJ13ZBG001N Focus Area 3 Purchase of Resources for Commercial Purposes.
The new pricing for private astronaut missions reflects full reimbursement for the value of NASA resources that are above the space station baseline capability. The new pricing applies to proposals submitted under NRA NNJ13ZBG001N Focus Area 4 Private Astronaut Missions to the International Space Station. Any proposals or awards for private astronaut missions will be subject to the updated prices. Due to the complexity of private astronaut missions and differing mission concepts, reimbursable values for these missions may vary. The pricing in Table B is representative and detailed pricing will be negotiated at time of mission award and contract or agreement finalization.
The prices in Table A and Table B are for the specific purposes noted in this policy. Requests for items outside of this policy will be assessed on a case by case basis and will have alternative pricing.
