Physics-Informed Particle Impact Ignition Model

NASA's National Aeronautics and Space Administration Shared Services Center has issued a Special Notice for a Physics-Informed Particle Impact Ignition Model contract. The notice indicates NASA intends to award a sole source contract to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i), determining that MIT is the sole provider capable of delivering this capability. The procurement will be managed by NASA/NSSC with performance at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The NAICS classification is 611310 (Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools), and the work falls under applied research and general science and technology R&D services. This Special Notice was posted on March 9, 2026, with a very short response window.

The objective of this procurement is to develop and validate a physics-informed particle impact ignition model for high-pressure oxidizing environments over a one-year performance period extending through March 2027. Interested organizations had until 3:00 p.m. Central Standard Time on March 11, 2026, to submit written capabilities and qualifications statements to determine whether the government should conduct the procurement on a competitive basis; oral communications were not acceptable. The contract work involves refining the Particle Impact Ignition Risk Assessment Tool (PIIRAT) through targeted testing and model validation, extending quantitative risk assessments to real-world geometries such as pipe bends and turbines, and delivering updated unit models, simulation reports, and stakeholder briefings. While MIT is identified as the intended sole source contractor, the government retained discretionary authority to convert this to a full and open competition based on responses received to this notice.