Base Notice: Space Systems Command (SSC) Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) Research and Development (R&D) Effort.
Air Force and Space Force · FA8810 SPACE SENSING SSC/SNK
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 26-057 in this department, oldest first.
- Sep 10, 2026 · this noticePre-solicitation
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
Sources Sought for Space Systems Command (SSC) Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) Research and Development (R&D) Effort. The United States Space Force, Space Systems Command (SSC) Wide Field of View (WFOV) Program Office, Boulder Ground Innovation Facility, Colorado intends to sole source this requirement to L3-Harris, but is seeking vendors that may be able to perform this requirement in order to support a competitive procurement for relevant technology developments to continue the calibration and characterization efforts for the Wide Field Of View (WFOV) Testbed Wide-Area Six Degree Payload… (show all)
(WASP). This request is an element of ongoing market research to define potential solutions to support Department of Defense (DoD) and National Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) initiatives. Information received in response to this RFI will be used to determine an appropriate acquisition strategy. The following paragraphs outline the current and desired capabilities that shall be provided in support of on-orbit support to the WFOV Testbed OPIR R&D effort: Offeror shall accomplish program objectives and meet near-term program milestones. Offerors must be familiar with the design, operation, calibration, and performance (optical and thermal) of a specific proprietary wide-field-of-view staring OPIR refractive telescope designed and manufactured by L3 Technologies. The Payload includes a custom focal plane array (FPA) from L3-Cincinnati Electronics (CE) that is cooled by a cryocooler. The Offeror must be familiar with custom electronics boxes and interfaces, including FPA electronics, cryocooler electronics, and main electronics boxes (and their respective custom software). The electronic boxes include FPGAs that pass mission data over a high-speed interface, and are mounted within a Millennium Space Systems (MSS) spacecraft that will fly in geostationary orbit with a Ka-band downlink. The Offeror must operate facilities at and employ personnel cleared with Secret and up to TS/SCI, if needed. Response from small and small disadvantaged businesses is encouraged. The size standard for NAICS 541715 is 1,000 employees. Anticipated contract award date 1QFY27. Statement of Capabilities 1. The following capabilities shall be provided in support of the WFOV Program Office�s Wide Field-of-View Testbed WASP to support post launch activities: a) Develop, test, and implement documentation and provide engineering analysis support for the following, but not limited to: WASP User's Manual updates, WASP Operational Procedures, Payload anomaly investigation support, Software and/or firmware updates for anomaly discrepancies, Payload Critical Anomaly List, Payload Thermal Model, WASP Test Procedures. b) Perform changes/modifications, maintenance, and inspections to the WASP software and hardware configurations and test procedures, to include flight equipment, engineering development units, and ground support equipment (if necessary). c) Provide oversight and execution of transition activities for required Continuity of Operations, as necessary. This notice is not direction to proceed with the effort, and is not a promise of future direction to proceed with the effort. All work performed or cost incurred in response to this notice shall be at your company's/organization's risk and shall not be chargeable to any other Government contract. Place of Contract Performance: Multiple places of performance: Boulder, CO and Blossom Point, MD
Who won similar work
113 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Match: Same agency (Air Force and Space Force), same NAICS 541715.
| Winner | Awards | Value | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON INC · $BAH | 5 | $46.6M | Sep 24, 2025 |
| LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP · $LMT | 5 | $40.1M | Jan 8, 2026 |
| RAYTHEON COMPANY · $RTX | 4 | $39.5M | Aug 5, 2026 |
| SYSTEMS & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH LLC | 4 | $18.3M | Sep 29, 2025 |
| DCS Corporation | 3 | $33.3B | Feb 23, 2026 |
| SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP · $SPCX | 3 | $49.4M | Mar 6, 2026 |
| MODERN TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. | 2 | $33.2B | Mar 26, 2025 |
| MATRIX RESEARCH INC | 2 | $109.9M | Jan 20, 2026 |
| NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION | 2 | $31.8M | Jul 21, 2026 |
| SAAB, INC | 2 | $8.5M | Jul 23, 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.
- Oct 6, 2026DRS NETWORK & IMAGING SYSTEMS LLC$2.2MMulti-Spectral Sensing Technologies Research and Development (MUSTER)
- Oct 1, 2026DEFENSE ENGINEERING CORP$37.6MMulti-Spectral Sensing Technologies Research and Development (MUSTER)
- Sep 30, 2026INVISIBLE PACK INC$225K316 SFS Ghoul Attachable Tool
- Aug 5, 2026RAYTHEON COMPANY$8.0MCombat Identification Automated Target Recognition Technology (CATCH) Call 05
- Aug 3, 2026Arete Associates Niwot CO 80503 USA$1.5MMulti-Spectral Sensing Technologies Research and Development (MUSTER)
- Jul 28, 2026SAAZ MICRO, INC.$1.9MMulti-Spectral Sensing Technologies Research and Development (MUSTER)
- Jul 21, 2026NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION$14.8MCombat Identification Automated Target Recognition Technology (CATCH) Call 06
- Jul 20, 2026RADIAL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT LTD$6.0MMulti-Spectral Sensing Technologies Research and Development (MUSTER)
- Jul 15, 2026RIVERSIDE RESEARCH INSTITUTE Fairfax VA 22033 USA$3.8MCOSMOS Bridge
- Jul 15, 2026VANTAGE ANALYTICAL LLC$499.0MNew Award- Space Systems and Hardware Integration for Novel Experiments (SSHINE)
Competitive landscape
For the 8 most frequent past winners above. Lobbying is matched by the company's exact name or exact ticker; agencies are as named on the filings.
- 1 of these past winners lobbied Air Force, Dept of since 2024 (8 filings)
- 0 of their lobbyists list a past Air Force, Dept of job
- $780K from their corporate PACs since 2024 to members of House Committee on Appropriations, House Committee on Armed Services, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senate Committee on Armed Services
- 1 foreign-agent (FARA) registrations
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.
- 8 bills named on the past winners' lobbying filings
- 32 rules from the department in the last 12 months
- 0 executive orders naming the agency in the last 12 months
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.
- 4 of the past winners are listed companies
- 0 insider buys and 6 insider sells at them in the last 90 days
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.