Three More Companies to Compete for Contracts Under US Space Force OSP-4 IDIQ

The U.S. Space Force has selected three additional companies to join a pool of launch providers competing for missions under the Orbital Services Program.

OSP-4 is an indefinite-delivery / indefinite-quantity contract that allows for the rapid acquisition of launch services on behalf of the Space Force.

The three companies are ABL Space Systems, Astra Space and Relativity Space, SpaceNews reported.

Under the OSP-4 IDIQ, selected vendors will compete for individual orders and, if selected, they have to launch payloads weighing more than 400 lbs to any orbit within one to two years after receiving their contracts.

The U.S. Air Force created the OSP-4 contract vehicle in October 2019 and selected eight companies to compete for orders. The new additions bring the total number of vendors to 11. They will compete for 20 missions for the next nine years. In that timeline, the Space Force is authorized to award up to $986 million in launch contracts.

The USSF previously awarded two OSP-4 task orders: one to VOX Space for the Space Test Program S28 mission and another to Northrop Grumman for the Tactically Responsive Launch-2 mission. 

The service is expected to award the next task order later this summer to enable the USSF-46S mission.

The addition of the three space companies to the OSP-4 competitors was announced on Aug. 9 by the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Rocket Systems Launch Program Office. 

According to Lt. Col. Justin Betz, chief of the SMC’s Small Launch and Targets Division, the IDIQ introduces speed, agility and flexibility into the launch enterprise and continues to cultivate a “resilient and affordable” launch market.