Pre-solicitationPosted Sep 30, 2025·Responses due Oct 20, 2025

Draft RFP and Pre-solicitation Synopsis: Engineering Services and Science Capability Augmentation (ESSCA) II

NASA · NASA MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER

Stage
Early notice (sources sought, presolicitation or special notice)
NAICS
541715
Value
Not stated
Solicitation
80MSFC26R0002
Set-aside
None stated
PSC
R425
Place
Huntsville, AL, USA
Contact
Sadie Moulton (sadie.m.moulton@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 80MSFC26R0002 in this department, oldest first.

Early notice
  • Sep 30, 2025 · this notice
    Pre-solicitation
  • Dec 4, 2025
    Pre-solicitation
    Open
  • Dec 19, 2025
    Pre-solicitation
    Open
  • Jan 23, 2026
    Pre-solicitation
    Open
Solicitation
  • May 27, 2026
    Solicitation
    Open
  • Jul 6, 2026
    Solicitation
    Open
  • Jul 24, 2026
    Solicitation
    Open
Award
Not yet. Typical award: Nov 17, 2025 to May 5, 2026, middle of the range Feb 4, 2026.
Measured from 23 past early notices at National Aeronautics and Space Administration that later posted an award (middle half of cases, counted from Sep 30, 2025).

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

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. NO PROPOSALS ARE TO BE SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE. This notice is issued by the NASA/MSFC to post a Draft Request for Proposals (DRFP) to solicit responses from interested parties and to notify interested parties that the Government anticipates release of the RFP 80MSFC26R0002 the week of November 17, 2025, with the anticipated due date for proposals being January 15, 2026. The DRFP is for information and planning purposes and to allow industry the opportunity to verify reasonableness and feasibility of the requirement, as well as promote competiti… (show all)

on. Important Notice: In the event of a lapse of Federal appropriations, no Government personnel are anticipated to support ESSCA II activities or be available to answer industry inquiries. Scheduled dates (e.g., Industry Day) are subject to change depending on when appropriations become available to continue support of the ESSCA II acquisition. The principal purpose of the Engineering Services and Science Capability Augmentation (ESSCA) II contract is to provide engineering and scientific skills augmentation and related services primarily to MSFC, including MAF, and SSC. The contract permits use by NASA Headquarters and all other NASA Centers. The contractor will provide skills augmentation and may provide end-item deliverables reliant on the following major skill areas: Aerosciences; Avionics & Electrical Systems; Flight Software and Ground Test; Materials Research, Analysis, Processes, Testing and Hardware Development; Operability; Optics; Propulsion Systems; Scientific Disciplines; Structural and Mechanical; Systems Engineering; Test Design and Operations; and Thermal and Fluids. The work will generally fall into one, or a combination of, the following categories: providing engineering product(s) for flight and science missions; providing technical oversight / insight support for flight and science missions; and providing engineering product(s) and technical oversight / insight support for research and development activities. ESSCA II will be issued as a full and open competition and will result in a single-award indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract with potential for cost-plus-award-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and firm-fixed-price orders. The North American Industry Classification System code for this acquisition is 541715, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology), (Exception 3) - Guided Missiles and Space Vehicles, their Propulsion Units and Propulsion Parts, and the small business size standard is 1,300 Employees. The Product Service Code is R425, Support-Professional: Engineering/Technical (non-IT). The contract potential period of performance is 8 years and 10 months, consisting of up to a 4-month phase-in period, a 5-year base ordering period, a 3-year optional ordering period, and a 6-month optional extension period permitted by FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services. The Government does not intend to acquire a commercial product or commercial service using FAR Part 12. This DRFP is issued as an acquisition-planning instrument and a means of soliciting industry comments for use in developing a final RFP. This DRFP and presolicitation synopsis is not a solicitation and NASA is not requesting proposals. This DRFP and presolicitation synopsis is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for the information submitted in response. The Government may not respond to questions/concerns submitted. The Government will use the information provided by industry during this DRFP review to finalize the RFP as necessary. The DRFP is provided in the attachments section of this SAM.gov posting. Note: The Government will also use information provided by industry during the related ESSCA II ATOMS Request for Information market research activity (see related posting under 80MSFC24R0015) to finalize the RFP as necessary. Interested parties are invited to comment on all aspects of the DRFP. The cognizant contracting office responsible for this procurement is MSFC. Interested parties are requested to review the DRFP and submit written comments and questions via email to the Contracting Officer, Sadie Moulton (sadie.m.moulton@nasa.gov), no later than 2:00 p.m., Central Time, on October 20, 2025. When responding reference 80MSFC26R0002 in the subject line. 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 A virtual industry day briefing is planned for Friday, October 17, 2025, in accordance with Section L, provision MSFC 52.210-91, Virtual Industry Day Meeting. If a solicitation is released, then it and any additional documents will be available on SAM.gov. Prospective offerors are encouraged to notify this office of their intent to submit an offer. All responsible sources may submit an offer which will be considered by the agency. It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor this website for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments (if any).

Who won similar work

3 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Match: Same office, same NAICS 541715.

WinnerAwardsValueLast
BASTION TECHNOIOGIES INC1$488.0MDec 16, 2025
ARES TECHNICAL SERVICES CORPORATION1$400.0MAug 7, 2026
New Rights Group, Inc.1$75.9MMay 4, 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 3 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.