FY26 COMSOL Renewal

This Special Notice pertains to a sole source procurement for the FY26 COMSOL software renewal issued by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Shared Services Center. Posted on January 28, 2026, the notice announces NASA's intent to award a single-source contract to COMSOL, Inc., the sole provider of this specialized software renewal product. The procurement will be executed under FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i) authority and managed by NASA's Shared Services Center with performance at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The government has determined that COMSOL software is proprietary with no authorized alternate vendors available in the marketplace. This sole source justification stems from the extensive reliance on COMSOL across MSFC for coupled-physics analyses supporting critical propulsion, test equipment, and thermal control system development efforts.

The primary objective of this Special Notice is to solicit capabilities and qualifications from interested organizations to determine whether competitive procurement is warranted, though NASA retains final discretion to proceed as a sole source award. Interested contractors must submit written capabilities and qualifications by 7:00 a.m. Central Standard Time on January 30, 2026, to Procurement Specialist Shanna Patterson at Shanna.l.Patterson@nasa.gov; oral communications are not acceptable. The contract covers a comprehensive suite of COMSOL Multiphysics software modules and tools provided as Floating Network Licenses for one concurrent user each, with performance extending from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027. The acquisition includes nine base COMSOL Multiphysics licenses and 26 specialized modules addressing various engineering disciplines such as structural mechanics, fluid dynamics, acoustics, and electromagnetics. Replacement of COMSOL with alternative software would require significant redevelopment of validated analysis capabilities and conversion of legacy project data stored in native COMSOL formats, creating substantial cost and schedule impacts across multiple active NASA programs.