Astrotech submits $20M NASA lunar payload proposal

Astrotech Corporation (Nasdaq: ASTC) announced it has submitted a Phase 1 proposal to NASA under the agency's Commercial Lunar Payload Services 2 (CLPS2) program, seeking approximately $20 million in non-dilutive funding for an initial lunar technology demonstration program.

The Austin, Texas-based company said it would seek additional NASA funding under CLPS2 if the program is fully implemented and authorized. CLPS2 is structured as a multiple-award procurement program with a reported total budget of up to $10 billion across all awarded contracts.

According to the company's statement, Astrotech's proposal covers technology demonstrations related to lunar resource extraction, materials processing, oxygen production, silicon-28 production, platinum group metals recovery, autonomous industrial operations, solar-electric power generation, and advanced manufacturing, among other areas.

"Submitting this CLPS2 proposal formally introduces Astrotech's vision for a lunar industrial economy and marks the return to the Company's prior spaceflight heritage," said Thomas B. Pickens III, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer of Astrotech.

Astrotech noted that submission of the proposal does not constitute a NASA selection, award, contract, authorization, endorsement, or commitment. Any selection or funding would be made by NASA in accordance with applicable procurement rules.

The company described its long-term lunar strategy as a recurring-mission architecture aimed at identification, extraction, processing, and potential commercialization of lunar resources. Astrotech referenced prior spaceflight operations during the Space Shuttle era, including work with SPACEHAB pressurized modules that supported missions to low Earth orbit, Mir, and the International Space Station.

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