NASA, in a move that screams 'you never know when you'll need a spare rocket,' has added Relativity Space Inc.'s Terran R launch service to its Launch Services (NLS) II contract. The addition comes courtesy of the contract's on-ramp provision, which is essentially NASA's way of saying 'the more the merrier' to launch providers.

The NLS II contracts are multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity deals with an ordering period stretching through June 2030 and an overall performance period ending December 2032. The on-ramp provision allows new launch service providers to compete for future missions annually and lets existing contractors introduce new vehicles not currently on their contracts - because nothing says 'space age' like a contract with a clause named after a highway entrance.

These contracts support the goals of NASA's Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate, Science Mission Directorate, and Research and Technology Mission Directorate. And in a rare act of inter-agency generosity, NASA can also share launch services with other government bodies, like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - because weather satellites don't launch themselves.

The whole operation is managed by NASA's Launch Services Program Office at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where they presumably keep a giant rolodex of rockets. For more info, you can contact Joshua Finch or Jimi Russell at HQ (202-358-1100) or Amanda Griffin at Kennedy (321-593-6244), but honestly, just read the press release.