Sources SoughtPosted Sep 11, 2026·Responses due Sep 26, 2026

University Provided Lunar Tracking and Communications Services

NASA · NASA AMES RESEARCH CENTER

Stage
Early notice (sources sought, presolicitation or special notice)
NAICS
517810
Value
Not stated
Solicitation
80ARC026LTCS
Set-aside
None stated
PSC
Not stated
Place
Moffett Field, CA, USA
Contact
Erik Whitehill (erik.c.whitehill@nasa.gov)
CSV Email

Capture briefs (a one-page, shareable copy of this page) are part of Pro. The CSV here holds the notice, its timeline and past awards.

Where this opportunity stands

Every notice posted under solicitation 80ARC026LTCS in this department, oldest first.

Early notice
  • Sep 11, 2026 · this notice
    Sources Sought
Solicitation
None posted
Award
Not yet. Typical award: Oct 29, 2026 to Apr 16, 2027, middle of the range Jan 16, 2027.
Measured from 23 past early notices at National Aeronautics and Space Administration that later posted an award (middle half of cases, counted from Sep 11, 2026).

Next steps for this stage

Standard steps for the notice type; not advice about this buyer.

  • Answer the notice: this is when the requirement can still be shaped.
  • Contact the contracting officer named on the notice.
  • Check who won similar work; they are the likely bidders.

What the notice says

NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) is hereby soliciting information from potential sources for the University Provided Lunar Tracking and Communications Services contract. A draft statement of work (SOW) is provided for information and planning. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ARC is seeking capability statements from all interested parties, including all socioeconomic categories of Small Businesses (SB) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Institutions (MI) for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition and/or small busin… (show all)

ess subcontracting goals for University Provided Lunar Tracking and Communications Services. Vendors are encouraged to demonstrate capabilities as a prime, subcontractor and/or teaming partner. The Government reserves the right to consider a Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), HUBZone, Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, and Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) business set-aside based on responses received. NASA seeks to acquire operational communications and tracking services from a university possessing antenna and associated ground system capabilities suitable for satellite communications service delivery for lunar and cislunar mission support. In addition to service provision, limited mission integration support may be required to onboard supported missions and ensure compatibility with the university�s service capability. Respondents are requested to provide informed input on realistic and appropriate SB subcontracting and/or participation goals for the specific requirement. This type of feedback supports NASA�s market research and helps ensure the acquisition strategy is aligned with actual industry capability. Industry feedback is requested for: 1. SB Subcontracting goals; 2 Barriers that may limit SB participation, such as certifications, unique technical requirements, security needs, specialized tools, or high-risk performance areas and/or 3. Strategies to increase SB participation, including: � Breaking requirements into smaller components � Identifying areas appropriate for subcontracting � Considering teaming or mentor prot�g� approaches No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on SAM.gov. Interested firms are responsible for monitoring this website for the release of any presolicitation or solicitation notice. Interested firms having the required capabilities necessary to meet the above requirement described herein should submit a capability statement of no more than 10 pages indicating the ability to perform all aspects of the effort. Your capability package should reflect your qualifications to accomplish the SOW and discuss your familiarity with similar efforts. Please advise if the requirement is considered a commercial or commercial-type product. A commercial product and commercial service is defined in FAR Part 2, Definitions. All responses must be submitted electronically via email to Erik Whitehill at Erik.C.Whitehill@nasa.gov no later than September 26, 2026 5:00 PM EDT. Please reference 80ARC026LTCS in any response. This sources sought notice is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. Respondents deemed fully qualified will be considered in any resultant solicitation for the requirement. NASA intends to publicize a listing of respondents to facilitate teaming arrangements. Should your firm desire not to be included in this listing, clearly indicate this desire in your response.

Who won similar work

2 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Match: Same agency (NASA), same NAICS 517810.

WinnerAwardsValueLast
ARES TECHNICAL SERVICES CORPORATION1$339.8MJun 2, 2026
The Regents of the University of Colorado Boulder CO 80309 USA1$25.3MOct 6, 2026

Value counts single-winner awards. "Shared" awards are multiple-award contracts that list every winner with the same total ceiling; that ceiling is not one company's win, so it is not added in.

Latest awards

Competitive landscape

For the 2 most frequent past winners above. Lobbying is matched by the company's exact name or exact ticker; agencies are as named on the filings.

  • 0 of these past winners lobbied Natl Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) since 2024 (0 filings)
  • 0 of their lobbyists list a past Natl Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) job
  • No corporate PAC money from them to the overseeing committees since 2024
  • 0 foreign-agent (FARA) registrations
See who and the source records with Pro

Policy around it

Bills the past winners named while lobbying this agency's issues, rules from the department, and executive orders that name the agency, last 12 months.

  • 0 bills named on the past winners' lobbying filings
  • 16 rules from the department in the last 12 months
  • 0 executive orders naming the agency in the last 12 months
See who and the source records with Pro

Market

For past winners matched exactly to a listed company. Insider trades are open-market buys and sells (Form 4) in the last 90 days, shown as facts; our own study found insiders do not reliably buy ahead of awards.

  • 0 of the past winners are listed companies
  • 0 insider buys and 0 insider sells at them in the last 90 days
See who and the source records with Pro

Sources: SAM.gov notices and award notices; Senate LDA lobbying filings; FEC filings; FARA; Federal Register; congress.gov; SEC Form 4. Every row above links to its record.

Companies are matched to tickers by exact name only. A company we could not match shows no market rows; that is a miss, not a finding.