NASA announced CLPS 2 lunar-delivery services as part of a package covering transportation, technology and science for its Moon Base program. The announcement took place at Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 7, 2026, according to Merca2.es. NASA’s release describes services that include managing, building and operating lunar landers.
How the CLPS 2 framework assigns work
Intuitive Machines described CLPS 2 as a multiple-award IDIQ framework: a contracting structure in which NASA can issue specific orders for work after establishing the broader pool. Under that arrangement, joining the pool is a step toward competing for missions; a later task order assigns specific work. Intuitive Machines described the framework in a company release reproduced on Reddit.
The company release gives the framework a combined ceiling of $10 billion, potentially rising to $15 billion if NASA exercises a five-year option. It describes an initial term of about 10 years, with a possible five-year extension. The ceiling sets the maximum value available across the framework; mission-specific work is assigned through task orders.
A task order is the point at which a place in the broader framework becomes a specific assignment.
Why NASA plans to separate transportation from cargo
NASA Moon Base program leader Carlos García-Galán described a plan to procure launch and orbital-transfer services separately from payloads, then match cargo with suitable transportation. Journalist Pablo Fuente reported García-Galán’s explanation that separating the two could reduce the chance that a delayed payload holds up an entire mission. Fuente’s account of the procurement plan describes the intended scheduling benefit; it does not report completed deliveries.
