Pre-solicitationPosted Sep 10, 2026·Responses due Sep 25, 2026

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

Stage
Early notice (sources sought, presolicitation or special notice)
NAICS
541715
Value
Not stated
Solicitation
26-057
Set-aside
None stated
PSC
AC22
Place
Boulder, CO, USA
Contact
Kerry Kearschner, Capt, USAF (kerry.kearschner@spaceforce.mil)
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 26-057 in this department, oldest first.

Early notice
  • Sep 10, 2026 · this notice
    Pre-solicitation
Solicitation
None posted
Award
Not yet. Typical award: Nov 5, 2026 to Mar 8, 2027, middle of the range Dec 17, 2026.
Measured from 253 past early notices at Dept of the Air Force that later posted an award (middle half of cases, counted from Sep 10, 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

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.

WinnerAwardsValueLast
BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON INC · $BAH5$46.6MSep 24, 2025
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP · $LMT5$40.1MJan 8, 2026
RAYTHEON COMPANY · $RTX4$39.5MAug 5, 2026
SYSTEMS & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH LLC4$18.3MSep 29, 2025
DCS Corporation3$33.3BFeb 23, 2026
SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP · $SPCX3$49.4MMar 6, 2026
MODERN TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC.2$33.2BMar 26, 2025
MATRIX RESEARCH INC2$109.9MJan 20, 2026
NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION2$31.8MJul 21, 2026
SAAB, INC2$8.5MJul 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.

Latest awards

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
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.

  • 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
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.

  • 4 of the past winners are listed companies
  • 0 insider buys and 6 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.