Estes Industries, LLC

Estes Industries, LLC (doing business as Estes Rockets) manufactures and supplies model rocket kits and model rocket engine bulk packs to the federal government as a prime contractor operating under small-business designations, with a narrow customer footprint anchored to Air Force training programs.

Estes Rockets is a for-profit limited liability company and a subsidiary of Langford Industries LLC, headquartered in Penrose, Colorado. The vendor competes under Total Small Business set-asides on its primary contract vehicle and operates entirely as a prime contractor (100% of recent awards), with no subcontract activity. The vendor's capability portfolio is narrowly focused: model rocket educational equipment and bulk engine packs manufactured and delivered to support Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) programs and, separately, renewable energy system installation under a federal grant.

Customer concentration is extreme. Seven of eight awards fund Air Education and Training Command (AETC) AFJROTC procurement, representing the full $2.5 million combined potential value of Estes Rockets' contract work. The single non-Air-Force award is a $520,000 Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Project Grant from the Department of Agriculture Rural Business Cooperative Services, awarded September 25, 2023, with a two-year completion window ending September 25, 2025. This grant supports renewable energy system installation at Estes Rockets' own facilities rather than procurement of goods or services for federal use.

Estes Rockets holds a single-award indefinite delivery contract with AETC (FA330022D0009), valued at $1,729,200 with a Total Small Business set-aside designation, running through September 26, 2027. Five delivery orders have been issued against this IDV to date, totaling $628,395.67 in obligated value. Recent delivery orders include a $99,605.60 firm fixed-price order awarded July 18, 2025, with completion by September 30, 2025; an $84,970.32 order awarded July 12, 2024, completed August 15, 2024; and a $119,656.15 order awarded June 29, 2026, with completion scheduled July 31, 2026. All work is performed at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. The contract represents consistent demand for specialized STEM educational equipment within AFJROTC training operations.

Activity volume is modest and has declined slightly year over year: two awards in 2022, three in 2023, one each in 2024, 2025, and 2026. No recompete cliff is visible in the source. The vendor's award footprint carries no named subcontractors and no work as a sub-recipient under federal grants.