Fair Opportunity Exception for T0373 Stratospheric Projectile Experiment of Entry Dynamics
Awarded Limited / Sole Source Justification Posted
- Solicitation number
- AFRC_FOP_FY26-01
- Agency
-
Armstrong Flight Research Center
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- Contract number
- 80AFRC24DA003-80AFRC26FA040 Federal contract award
- Awardee
- Aerostar International, LLC
- NAICS code
- 481212 Nonscheduled Chartered Freight Air Transportation
- Place of performance
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57108, United States
- Points of contact
-
- Kimberly Beck afrc-flight-opportunities-procurement@mail.nasa.gov
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center intends to award a sole-source task order to Aerostar International Inc. under the NASA Suborbital/Hosted Orbital Flight and Payload Integration Services (FO IDIQ 4) for integration and flight testing of the T0373 Stratospheric Projectile Experiment of Entry Dynamics payload on a high-altitude balloon, with performance through October 31, 2026.
The justification cites FAR 16.507(b)(2), asserting that only one aerostar is capable of providing the highly specialized services required. While two other high-altitude balloon providers are available under FO IDIQ 4—Angstrom Designs and World View—Aerostar is uniquely qualified to support the SPEED payload's 86-kilogram mass, which exceeds Angstrom's 2-kilogram capacity limit. Aerostar also offers diverse testing capabilities across multiple vehicles, terrains, and latitudes, as well as Chase Plane capability and landing terrain diversity that World View lacks. The contracting officer will verify fair and reasonable pricing through price analysis and FAA 15.404 proposal analysis techniques, applying the base contract's calendar year 2026 rates for standard services. The competition advocate has approved the exception to fair opportunity based on the substantive evidence presented.
Notice text
Justification for exception to fair opportunity for the T0373 Stratospheric Projectile Experiment of Entry Dynamics task order under the NASA Suborbital/ Hosted Orbital Flight and Payload Intergrations Services (FO IDIQ 4) is provided as an attachment to this posting.
Awarded contract 80AFRC24DA003 to unknown vendor for unknown amount on 2026-07-22.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| T0373 SPEED 2_JEFO-Redacted.pdf |
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