Ignition deck 3: "Staying in Low Earth Orbit"¶

Document: 3-staying-in-low-earth-orbit.pdf, 18 slides. The title slide reads "STAYING IN LOW EARTH ORBIT", presented by "Dana Weigel, LEO Program Manager" (slide 1). The Ignition page lists it as the "Staying in Low Earth Orbit" presentation, "Mar 26, 2026, 8.32 MB"; the download is 8,721,805 bytes, which is 8.32 MB (sources/manifest.csv). No slide prints a date of its own. Text: sources/text/docs/2026-03-3-staying-in-low-earth-orbit.txt; images in sources/raw/slides/2026-03-3-staying-in-low-earth-orbit/. All seven text-poor slides (1, 3, 5, 11, 13, 14, 15) were read from their images, and so were slides 10 and 17.

Rank. A briefing, not the architecture of record (SCHEMA, "Workshop slides"). Its subject is the one of the LEO fact sheet of the same day, which stays the home for the LEO plan as announced. This page records only what the slides add. No "Pre-Decisional" or "CUI" line appears in its text layer (searched).

Summary. The LEO Program's Ignition briefing on replacing the International Space Station. It doesn't mention the Moon, Mars, the Moon Base or the Moon to Mars Architecture. Its "Phase 1", "Phase 2" and "Phase 3" are the LEO procurement's, not the Moon Base's. Beyond the fact sheet, it calls the core-module plan an "alternate" option beside the original commercial path, gives a procurement timeline to 2035, and says "Available budget is $250 million per year through end of ISS".

Slides¶

Slides	Content
1	Title (above)
2	"Core objectives in low Earth orbit" (below)
3–4	The station's record, and "25+ years of overcoming the impossible"
5	"Space station crew message" (a photo of four crew members aboard; no text)
6–9	Current commercial markets, challenges, path forward, the original path against "Market/Budget Reality"
10–16	"Alternate approach for commercial destinations": benefits of the ISS before detaching, evolutionary assembly, core module, commercial modules, future expansion, opportunities for industry
17	"Alternate option: phased procurement" (timeline, read from the image)
18	Wrap-up

What the slides add to the fact sheet¶

Core objectives (slide 2): "Preserve a continuous presence to conduct groundbreaking research and technology development"; "Expand commercial access, stimulate commercial demand, and foster economic growth"; "Responsibly end ISS operations and transition to commercial space stations". "Building a replacement for ISS is a national imperative to maintain an orbital laboratory and proving ground in Low Earth Orbit." The slide doesn't say a proving ground for what.
The station's record (slides 3–4): "37 Shuttle flights", "160 spacewalks", "$50B+ to develop/assemble; ~$100B to date", "4,000+ research investigations", "5,000+ researchers", "110+ countries", "290+ visitors from 26 countries". "Since assembly, conducted 110+ spacewalks to address equipment failures or upgrades"; "30 years and significant investment to get the ISS state-of-the-art life support systems to current performance"; "Any future station will encounter similar failures and challenges." As on the fact sheet, the deck draws no lesson for the Moon or Mars, and the wiki doesn't either.
Markets and budget (slides 6–7): "After 25+ years, no breakthroughs products or capabilities that generate demand"; "Tourism has not materialized as a market"; "Unable to fund the original path of two stations. Challenge to afford one: multi-billion shortfall"; "Stage is set for single 'winner take all' with an uncertain outcome."
Two options, not one preferred path. The deck titles the core-module plan "Alternate approach for commercial destinations" (slide 10) and "Alternate option: phased procurement" (slide 17). "We are open to continue with original commercial plan or to pivot to a new preferred option" (slide 8), and the RFI asks for feedback "for both options" (slide 18). The fact sheet calls the same plan "NASA's Preferred Path". Recorded as printed; the wiki doesn't say which is current.
The alternate approach in three steps (slide 10, read from the image): "ISS today" ("Leverage ISS": "Stable platform in LEO", more private astronaut missions); "Added core" ("Add core + commercial modules": "Foundation for future separation", "Mature industry capabilities", "Grow demand"); "Detatch" ("Transition to Commercial": "Industry achieves operational readiness", "Multiple stations can detach", "NASA becomes one of many customers buying services"). Slide 12, "Evolutionary Assembly", has four stages: "Starting Point" (core module), "Commercial Expansion" (commercial modules), "Separation and Growth" (new station) and "Commercial Market Achieved" (multiple destinations). The fact sheet's four phases are "NASA Core Module", "Commercial Modules", "Separation and Growth" and "Market‑Driven Expansion"; only "Separation and Growth" has the same name. Reading the two sets as the same stages is the wiki's.
Benefits of the ISS before detaching (slide 11, image): "Fully Operational to Support Continued Commercial Development"; "Operational Flexibility for Outfitting & Anomaly Response"; "Shared Habitability and Crew & Cargo Capability"; "ISS Robotics and EVA"; "Transfer of ISS Assets".
Core module (slide 13): "NASA-procured", "Includes propulsion, power/cooling, basic life support, and is compatible with existing transportation", "Attaches to ISS forward port".
Phased procurement (slide 17, read from the image). A timeline from 2026 to 2035:
- "Phase 1: Core Module", about 2026 to 2031 on the chart: "Core Initial Design" by two providers, then a "Core Module Downselect"; "Phase 1: Commercial Module" for providers 3 and 4 over the same years
- "ISS Commercial Use Calls" 1 to 4, about 2026 to 2030
- "Phase 2: Power and Cooling Module (Market Driven)", about 2028 to 2033: two design providers, then a downselect
- "Phase 3: Commercial Module Expansion or Services (Market Driven)", about 2029 to 2034
- "Phase 1 RFI Timeline": "Concept RFI 3/25/26", "Final RFI 4/24/26", "Draft RFP 6/1/26"
- "Available budget is $250 million per year through end of ISS". The slide gives no end date for the ISS.
The chart's years are read from bar positions and are approximate. The fact sheet's "phases" are four stages of the station; the deck's three are procurement phases.
For industry (slide 16): "Two PAM missions per year", "PAM commander seat sale", "Core module development", "Commercial modules by two providers in initial phase", a "Market-driven power and cooling module", "Continued crew and cargo transport demand past ISS". The deck doesn't expand "PAM"; slide 6 has "Four commercial Private Astronaut Missions".
Wrap-up (slide 18): "Look for RFI on SAM.gov on March 25th and give us feedback for both options", on "partnership arrangements", "Hard financial commitments", "Long-term economic viability beyond NASA as a customer" and "Major technical hurdles".

Bearing on Moon to Mars¶

None stated. The subject is the one of RT-8 Leverage Low-Earth Orbit; the pairing is the wiki's. The deck's "Phase 1–3" must not be read as Moon Base phases (Phases).

Date¶

The deck says to "Look for RFI on SAM.gov on March 25th" (slide 18) and dates the Concept RFI "3/25/26" (slide 17), as a coming event. So it was given before 25 March, consistent with Ignition day, 24 March 2026; the Ignition page's 26 March is the listing date. The wiki's reading; see open question 83.

Oddities¶

"DETATCH" (slide 10), as printed.
"no breakthroughs products" (slide 6), as printed.

LEO fact sheet · RT-8 Leverage Low-Earth Orbit · Ignition page