Geostationary Littoral Imaging and Monitoring Radiometer (GLIMR) Access to Space (ATS) “GLIMR ATS"

NASA Langley Research Center seeks a contractor to provide integrated access-to-space services for the Geostationary Littoral Imaging and Monitoring Radiometer (GLIMR) payload, including spacecraft, launch vehicle, integration, ground systems, and on-orbit operations, with proposals due September 11, 2026 (as extended by Amendment 0002).

This is a full and open competition under NAICS 541715 with a small business size standard of 1,000 employees. Place of performance is Hampton, Virginia, with work conducted at the contractor's offsite facilities. The contract structure comprises one baseline CLIN covering spacecraft design and procurement, payload integration, ground segment design and integration, observatory testing, pre-launch processing, launch, 90-day in-orbit checkout, and 12 months of baseline on-orbit operations, plus three optional CLINs: two 12-month extended mission operation periods and one not-to-exceed 6-month extension. Total potential period of performance is five years with an anticipated award date in January 2027 and contract effective date immediately upon award. The contract is firm-fixed-price with milestone-based payments tied to government approval of deliverables.

The contractor must secure or provide a spacecraft capable of hosting the 175-kilogram GLIMR payload in geostationary orbit between 86–110 degrees west longitude. The payload requires 400 watts steady-state operational power and 500 watts peak power distributed across three feeds at 322.0 VDC. Key technical requirements include AS9100 certification, compliance with MIL-STD-461G electromagnetic compatibility standards, contamination control per IEST-STD-CC1246, SpaceWire data interfaces at 100 MHz signaling rate, and comprehensive environmental testing including sinusoidal vibration, random vibration, acoustic, and thermal-vacuum protocols. The GLIMR payload must achieve mission success with 90 days of commissioning followed by one year of science operations at 90 percent probability of success.

The Government will evaluate proposals using a best-value trade-off approach across three factors in order of importance: Technical Approach and Oral Presentation (Factor 2), Past Performance (Factor 1), and Price (Factor 3), with price weighted approximately equal to combined non-price factors. The Government intends to award without discussions. Oral presentations will be held in-person at NASA Langley within three business days after receipt of Volume II. Offerors must maintain a CAGE code matching the corporate address, disclose any intent to use artificial intelligence during contract performance, maintain compliance with export control and security requirements, provide quality system and small business subcontracting plans, and submit an organizational conflicts-of-interest plan within 30 days of award. Amendment 0001 extended due dates one week and released questions and answers; Amendment 0002 extended the question deadline to August 18, 2026, added Attachment 5 (Interface Definition Document), and clarified distinctions between reference and applicable documents.