Photo: NASA

Virgin Galactic and Masten Space Systems won contracts with NASA to provide flight and integration services for payloads chosen by the Flight Opportunities program, the agency revealed Monday. The two companies join four other companies — UP Aerospace, Blue Origin, Raven Aerostar, and World View — to provide service under commercial Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contracts. The new IDIQ contract awards run through July 31, 2023. The multiple award contracts are firm-fixed-price orders with a total combined value of $45 million.

The U.S. government intends to acquire payload space on commercial flights, including payload integration services, to fly technology payloads on platforms providing high altitude, reduced gravity, or other environments needed for testing.

NASA’s Flight Opportunities program works toward maturing flight readiness of new technologies for future space missions. Since 2011, the program has provided opportunities to fly more than 700 technology payloads on flight platforms. Additionally, the program is part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.