Biospherical Instruments, Inc.

Biospherical Instruments, Inc., based in San Diego, California, manufactures advanced optical instrumentation for environmental monitoring and delivers development services in atmospheric and oceanic measurement technologies to federal research agencies and NASA as a prime contractor. The company operates as a for-profit manufacturer of goods, competing predominantly under total small business set-asides (five of the most recent seven prime contract awards carry this designation), with additional customer work through open competitive procurements.

The vendor's capability portfolio centers on specialized radiometric sensors, polarimetry systems, and optical profiling devices for atmospheric and oceanic research. Recent prime contract examples include a $222,655 Phase I SBIR award from the Shared Services Center for development of a Hyperspectral Polarimetry, Irradiance, and Radiance System for Gimbal-Enabled Autonomous Radiometry of the Sea and Sky (HY-PIR GEARSS), expected to complete March 30, 2027; an $845,508 Phase II SBIR contract also from the Shared Services Center for a Hyperspectral Optical Profiling System with Advanced Dynamic Vertical Sampling Resolution (HY-OPS ADVSR) running through August 5, 2027; and a $24.3 thousand NOAA sole-source purchase order for seven underwater Photosynthetically Available Radiation (PAR) sensors deployed at NOAA's Bering Sea mooring sites as part of the Ecosystem & Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations program. The vendor also holds a multi-year $137.55 thousand NOAA contract extending through February 29, 2028, for instrument data processing, research associate training, and technical assistance supporting three stations in NOAA's Antarctic Ultraviolet Monitoring Network. On the federal grant side, Biospherical received a $299,996 NOAA Small Business Innovation Research Phase I award for development of UV-C LED technology to reduce biofouling on submerged radiometers, with a Phase II effort funded August 1, 2023, through July 31, 2026, and a National Science Foundation project grant (January to December 2024) supporting research on solar eclipse-induced ozone layer changes using UV/visible spectroscopy radiometry.

Customer concentration clusters with NASA and NOAA. The top five customers—NASA Shared Services Center (21 awards, $3.6 million combined potential value), NASA Goddard Space Center (20 awards, $2.5 million), NOAA (31 awards, $700 thousand), Department of the Navy (14 awards), and NASA Glenn Research Center (one award, $700 thousand)—account for 68% of awards and 83% of combined potential value. NOAA dominates award volume but not dollar value; NASA's Shared Services Center and Goddard anchors the dollar concentration, while the Navy maintains a persistent small-order relationship. Over 134 total awards since 1986, recent activity has slowed to one to four awards annually across 2023–2026, with three awards (combined potential value $1.2 million) facing completion in the next twenty-four months. The vendor maintains minimal subcontractor presence, with one subcontract under Electric Boat Corporation (September 2024) and one under Atlantic Diving Supply, Inc. (July 2024), both poorly characterized in the source. Work performed across multiple locations includes San Diego and Boulder, Colorado, with overseas performance in Antarctica for NOAA's UV monitoring program and international collaboration in Mexico on eclipse-observation work.

OCEANOGRAPHIC, ATMOSPHERIC RADIOMETRIC INSTRUMENTATION, SPECTRORADIOMETERS, RADIOMETERS, UV RADIOMETERS.