Special NoticePosted Aug 17, 2026·Responses due Aug 21, 2026

Modification to Making Advancements in Commercial Hypersonics (MACH).

NASA · NASA ARMSTRONG FLIGHT RESEARCH CNTR

Stage
Early notice (sources sought, presolicitation or special notice)
NAICS
541715
Value
Not stated
Solicitation
80AFRC26SS020
Set-aside
No Set aside used
PSC
AJ11
Place
CA, USA
Contact
Melissa Newell (melissa.newell@nasa.gov)
…Open on SAM.gov
Loading your pipeline and notes…
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 80AFRC26SS020 in this department, oldest first.

Early notice
  • Aug 11, 2026
    Sources Sought
    Open
  • Aug 17, 2026 · this notice
    Special Notice
Solicitation
None posted
Award
Not yet. Typical award: Sep 28, 2026 to Mar 16, 2027, middle of the range Dec 16, 2026.
Measured from 23 past early notices at National Aeronautics and Space Administration that later posted an award (middle half of cases, counted from Aug 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/AFRC has a requirement to develop a comprehensive System Requirements Review (SRR) and Conceptual Design Review (CoDR) activity for the Stratolaunch Talon-A NextGen hypersonic flight test vehicle as a modification to the current contract 80AFRC25P001, Flight Test Vehicle Development Examination for Making Advancements in Commercial Hypersonics (MACH). NASA/AFRC intends to issue a sole source contract to acquire the services from Stratolaunch, LLC. During the current contract performance, Stratolaunch, LLC has developed and is flight testing the Talon-A high-speed vehicle that can currentl… (show all)

y reach Mach 5 conditions for approximately 10 seconds. The Talon-A vehicle is currently the only reusable flight test vehicle in the United States that can reach hypersonic flight conditions (Mach 5+). This unique flight test capability is currently being used by United States government and industry to verify/advance critical technologies for future hypersonic vehicle applications. There is an increasing demand to test critical technologies at sustained flight conditions of Mach 6+ and longer flight conditions (10+ minutes). Stratolaunch is currently the only contractor with an operational and reusable flight test vehicle that can be modified to meet the more demanding flight test conditions. The Government intends to acquire a commercial product or service using FAR Part 12. Interested organizations may submit their capabilities and qualifications to perform the effort electronically via email to Melissa Newell at melissa.newell@nasa.gov not later than 4:00pm Pacific on August 21, 2026. Such capabilities/qualifications will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct this acquisition on a competitive basis. A decision by the Government not to compete this acquisition on a full and open competition basis, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at : https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf

Who won similar work

5 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Matched by: Same agency (NASA), same product/service code (PSC) AJ11.

Single-winner award sizes (5): middle half $1.2M to $17.4M, median $15.0M; range $500K to $488.0M.

WinnerAwardsValueLast
BASTION TECHNOIOGIES INC1$488.0MDec 16, 2025
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge MA 02139 USA1$17.4MJul 1, 2025
THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO Boulder CO 80309 USA1$15.0MJul 8, 2025
STRATOLAUNCH, LLC1$1.2MAug 21, 2025
SPACEWORKS ENTERPRISES INC1$500KAug 21, 2025

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. Revenue next to a ticker is the company's last annual revenue from its 10-K.

Latest awards

Competitive landscape

For the 5 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. A sale marked 10b5-1 was made under a trading plan set up in advance.

  • 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.