The key race: NASA posted the final commercial-station request on 9 October
NASA release 26-086, dated 9 October 2026, says the agency posted the final Request for Proposals for commercial low Earth orbit destinations. Proposals are due 8 December, and awards are expected in spring 2027. NASA will use firm-fixed-price, multi-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts, select two or more contractors for early development, and then compete a task order for final design, test, certification, and services. The destinations must provide end-to-end destination and transportation services.
Solicitation 80JSC027R0004 has a cover letter dated 9 October. It anticipates award on 15 April 2027. The ordering period is eight years, plus a four-year option and a three-year option. The service includes transportation vehicles and cargo and crew missions after certification. A virtual pre-proposal conference is set for 15 October, and prime one-on-ones at the Gilruth Center are set for 16 October. RSVPs were due 13 October.
Who answered, and what hardware is in the factory
Ars Technica on 9 October quoted three bidders. Vast said it will compete and that Haven-1 is in final integration. Axiom said it is reviewing the request. Marshall Smith of Voyager Starlab said Starlab will compete. Ars also wrote that phase-one winners are guaranteed at least 100 million dollars, that NASA will furnish the first four NASA service missions, and that a 2030 crew flight is priced at 325 million dollars and a cargo flight at 300 million dollars. Those three points are not in the NASA release or the cover letter. The cover letter uses 100 million dollars as the threshold for a major subcontractor. It is not an award floor.
The Haven-1 page, read 14 October, still targets a 2027 launch. The flight structure is back in Long Beach for final weld inspections and integration. An October docking-adapter fit check is complete. Twelve flight solar wings are in acceptance inspection, and the flight computer is entering electromagnetic-interference testing. That is a station on the ground. Starlab Step-1 proposals are still due 21 October 2026 at 23:59:59 Eastern. That call is access to the International Space Station, not a Starlab module on orbit.
What decides it before the April award date
The open question is no longer whether NASA will post the request. The dated gates are the 15 October conference, the 16 October prime meetings, proposals on 8 December, and the cover letter award date of 15 April 2027. NASA still describes spring 2027, the same season as that April date. A posted request is not a funded module, and a plan to compete is not a selection.
Haven-1 can still fly in 2027 without winning this contract. The CLDC award is the path NASA has described for a certified destination after the International Space Station retires. Ars put that succession as early as 2030. Starlab 21 October close would show research customers for the station that already exists. None of those steps is a new commercial module on orbit.
What to watch through April 2027
Watch whether the 15 October conference or the 16 October meetings change the documents before 8 December. Watch whether Long Beach integration produces a dated Haven-1 shipment. The page does not announce one. Watch whether the Starlab Step-1 close on 21 October produces a selected International Space Station slate. Watch how many proposals arrive on 8 December, and whether the award holds on 15 April 2027 with two or more teams in early development. A statement that a company will compete is not a module that stays on orbit.
