JOFOC_FO4 Ceiling Increase_Final_Redacted.pdf

FY26-09

3. FAR 6.104-1(a)(3) � A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the Agency�s needs (including the estimated value):

NASA/AFRC has a requirement for the FO4 combined ceiling to be increased. The current commercial flight providers are capable of providing the flight and payload integration services required to test space technology payloads on their various platforms (including, but not limited to, high-altitude balloons, suborbital rocket-powered vehicles, and orbital vehicles capable of hosting payloads). The Flight Opportunities (FO) Program fosters the development and operational readiness of commercial flight capabilities while rapidly demonstrating promising technologies for space exploration, discovery, and the expansion of space commerce. Through successive iterations, the program has expanded from supporting suborbital testing to also enabling hosted orbital missions under FO4, helping mature technologies critical to NASA missions and commercial space applications.

The FO4 contract has a combined ordering limit of across the fifteen separate multiple award IDIQ contracts. Unlike IDIQ vehicles with separate ceilings for each awardee, FO4 establishes a single shared ordering ceiling applicable to all 15 contracts.

These contracted providers offer payload integration and flight test services across six flight profiles to provide science and technology payloads access to relevant environments that are essential for advancement of technology readiness and to meet mission objectives. These flight profiles allow NASA and other stakeholders to test technologies in relevant environments including reduced gravity, high-altitude exposure, free fall descent, controlled landing trajectories, ascent/descent profiles, and hosted orbital operations.

As part of their contracted tasks, flight providers deliver essential services, including payload reviews (pre-manifest to final flight reviews), mechanical and electrical integration of payloads onto flight platforms, and ensuring mechanical configuration, physical envelopes and mass properties. They provide critical flight and on-orbit support, including electrical power and communication interfaces, command handling, and data downlink. Providers manage the mission's technical lifecycle, encompassing planning to meet specific flight requirements including trajectories, profiles, and orbits. Flight providers manage the complex logistics of launch, flight, on-orbit operations, and vehicle and payload recovery (as applicable), and they need responsibility for safety and hazard mitigation for their operations.

These services are essential for ensuring mission assurance across both suborbital and orbital operations, particularly as demand for higher complexity hosted orbital missions continues to grow.

The period of performance for each contract under the FO4 IDIQ for Flight Opportunities is 5 years. For each task issued within the IDIQ, the duration varies based on the scope of the work to be performed. Individual campaign durations differ significantly, as such the period of performance for each task is structured based on the requirements of NASA and the payload provider and the capability and flight-schedules of the provider pool.

At the initiation of this IDIQ, the ceiling was set at based on historical activity within the Flight Opportunities program. This estimate reflected demand primarily from the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), which had previously been the dominant user of FO flight services during prior contract iterations. However, several factors have changed since that initial analysis was carried out. The initial estimate was based primarily on the flight test needs of the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), which had been the customer for the vast majority of flights to date. Since initiation of this IDIQ, interest in commercial flight services across the agency has increased quite dramatically.

Demand has expanded substantially across other NASA Mission Directorates seeking to leverage commercial flight capabilities to accelerate technology maturation and improve mission efficiency. Both within STMD and across other mission directorates, interest has also been significantly higher than expected for hosted orbital services. Hosted orbital services provide unique capabilities and increased mission assurance but also involve substantially higher costs due to their operational complexity, contributing to accelerated ordering activity under FO4. The use of commercial flights to achieve agency objectives more efficiently and with greater mission assurance is a very positive outcome, and the program is pleased to see adoption occurring more rapidly than expected. However, to address this unexpectedly high demand, particularly for orbital services, which have a higher price point than suborbital due to their complexity, a significantly higher contract ceiling is required.

In addition, the FO4 contracts include an on-ramp provision that is expected to be exercised in FY27 to allow additional qualified commercial flight providers to join the contract vehicle.

The increased ceiling will ensure sufficient ordering capacity is available not only for the current pool of contracted flight providers who are supporting the growing volume of commercial flight services, but also for future on ramped providers. This flexibility helps expand commercial flight options, fosters competition, and ensures the program can continue leveraging a rapidly maturing commercial space marketplace to meet evolving Agency needs.

Based on current demand combined with indicators of desire for future flight tests and caustic, Flight Opportunities estimates the need for approximately 50 flights over the remaining three years of the contracts. About 50% of these flights are estimated to be on suborbital rockets, 15% on high-altitude balloons, 20% on small hosted-orbital missions, and 15% on larger hosted-orbital missions. Although costs of missions can vary significantly based on the requirements of each individual task, a conservative estimate of the total cost of these missions based on average flights costs is between . This ceiling increase to will enable the program to continue to serve the agency through a high volume of commercial flight services during this period of rapid maturity in the commercial space market, while also maintaining sufficient ordering capacity for newly added providers.

4. FAR 6.104-1(a)(4) � An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C.

3204(a)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.103-1(b) One Responsible Source. For NASA, this authority extends to situations where only a limited number of responsible sources can satisfy agency requirements.

5. FAR 6.104-1(a)(5) � A demonstration that the proposed contractor�s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

The rationale supporting the use of 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1), One Responsible Source, is described below.

The proposed action is limited to increasing the combined ordering ceiling of the existing FO4 multiple-award IDIQ contracts without expanding the scope of the contracts, introducing new requirements, or changing the nature of the services being acquired. Instead, it increases the ordering capacity of the existing contracts to accommodate significantly higher-than-anticipated demand for commercial flight services while preserving the competitive acquisition strategy established for FO4.

The FO4 contracts were awarded through a full and open competitive acquisition, during which the current qualified flight providers were evaluated and found to meet all requirements to provide services under this IDIQ. Each provider operates a vehicle or family of vehicles that has been accepted by the Government as a Qualified Vehicle (QV) or Qualified Vehicle Family (QVF) to provide services under this contract. There have been multiple successful tasks issued that provided flights and integration of space technology payloads into the providers� QVs, demonstrating their ability to meet NASA's mission requirements.

Because the proposed action is limited to increasing the ordering ceiling of the existing FO4 contracts, only the current FO4 contract holders are eligible to receive the modification. The increase does not expand the scope of the original competition, create new contractual rights, or circumvent competition. Rather, it preserves NASA's ability to continue issuing task orders for in-scope requirements under the existing contracts. Future task orders will continue to be competed among the FO4 contract holders in accordance with the fair opportunity procedures established under the multiple-award IDIQ contracts, thereby maintaining competition throughout the remaining period of performance.

Additionally, the FO4 contracts include an on-ramp clause which allows the Contracting Officer to competitively add new qualified flight providers to the IDIQ provider pool. In addition, the FO4 contracts include an on-ramp provision that is expected to be exercised in FY27 to allow additional qualified commercial flight providers to join the contract vehicle.

The increased ceiling will ensure sufficient ordering capacity is available not only for the current pool of contracted flight providers who are supporting the growing volume of commercial flight services, but also for future on ramped providers. This flexibility helps expand commercial flight options, fosters competition, and ensures the program can continue leveraging a rapidly maturing commercial space marketplace to meet evolving Agency needs.. Until such an on-ramp is conducted, however, the current FO4 contract holders are the only responsible sources eligible to receive the proposed ceiling increase because they are the only contractors holding valid FO4 IDIQ contracts under which future task orders may be issued.

6. FAR 6.104-1(a)(6) � A description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by part 5.1 and, if not, which exception under part 5.101 applies:

A notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website (Sam.gov) was published on July 2, 2026, in accordance with FAR part 5.1. This posting informed potential sources of NASA�s intent to award sole source modifications to the contracts listed in section 2. The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10 below.

7. FAR 6.104-1(a)(7) � A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The contract ceiling increase will be based on the Government�s estimate of anticipated requirements for the remainder of the period of performance. Each contract includes both standard and non-standard service price lists that have been determined fair and reasonable through adequate competition. Task order competitions will continue in accordance with FAR 16.506 and the FO4 IDIQ Ordering Guide, supported by technical evaluations and price analysis to ensure technically acceptable proposals at fair and reasonable prices. The Contracting Officer�s signature on this document indicates that the Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated task order prices will be fair and reasonable.

8. FAR 6.104-1(a)(8) � Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted (e.g., urgent, and compelling requirement):

The Flight Opportunities Program Executive and Program Manager are continuously performing market research and analysis of the suborbital and hosted orbital industry through industry engagement events, conference outreach, and one-on-one meetings with interested parties.

This ongoing market research is used to assess emerging commercial capabilities, evaluate the maturity of the commercial space marketplace, and identify potential providers capable of supporting future NASA mission requirements.

The results of this continuous market research indicate that additional commercial flight providers may be capable of supporting future Flight Opportunities requirements.

Accordingly, the FO4 contracts include an on-ramp provision that enables the Contracting Officer to competitively add qualified providers to the multiple-award IDIQ contract portfolio. Based on current market conditions and the results of this ongoing market research, NASA anticipates exercising the on-ramp provision in FY27 to expand the pool of qualified providers while maintaining competition and enhancing the Agency's access to evolving commercial flight capabilities.

9. FAR 6.104-1(a)(9) � Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

Consistent with Executive Order (E.O.) Promoting Efficiency, Accountability, and Performance in Federal Contracting, signed on April 30, 2026, this contract employs commercial, firm-fixed-price, performance-based task orders which is the Administration�s preferred procurement approach. This approach enhances cost predictability and budget discipline, strengthens contractor incentives and accountability, and streamlines procurement and contract administration.

Under this IDIQ, the Contracting Officer issues task orders to the established pool of contractors in accordance with fair opportunity procedures. These task orders are firm-fixed-price and based on established contract pricing for commercial services. The ordering process is governed by a streamlined ordering guide designed to expedite acquisitions and reduce administrative burden.

These efficiencies have driven significant demand for the use of FO4 across the Mission Directorates and the Agency. Because this demand consists of requirements within the contract scope and aligned with the capabilities of qualified providers, increasing the contract ceiling is in the Government�s best interest to support continued utilization throughout the current period of performance.

10. FAR 6.104-1(a)(10) � A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

A notice of NASA�s intent to award this limited source action was synopsized on the GPE website (Sam.gov) per FAR part 5.2 (See Section 6 above). The synopsis was posted on July 2, 2026 and closed on July 17, 2026. No responses were received.

11. FAR 6.104-1(a)(11) � A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition of the supplies or services required:

The Agency will continue to examine the market in the future for new sources. Using the on-ramp clause included in the contract, the Government will on-board emerging flight service providers and incumbent flight service providers to introduce qualified vehicles that maintain innovative and competitive task orders under this contract. This method of on-ramping will allow the Flight Opportunities program to adjust the awarded contractor pool to ensure that an optimal mix of premier contractors is maintained to facilitate adequate competition.

FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES FLIGHT AND PAYLOAD INTEGRATION SERVICES 4

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

SIGNATURE PAGE

I certify that the facts presented in this justification are accurate and complete.

Technical Representative

I hereby certify that the above justification is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer

CONCURRENCES:

Competition Advocate Armstrong Flight Research Center

Head of Contracting Activity, RCPO

FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES FLIGHT AND PAYLOAD INTEGRATION SERVICES 4

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

SIGNATURE PAGE

Office of the General Counsel at Headquarters

Agency Competition Advocate

APPROVAL:

Senior Procurement Executive