Loren Data's SAM Daily™

SAMDAILY.US - ISSUE OF APRIL 28, 2026 SAM #8919
SOLICITATION NOTICE

A -- Autonomous Space-Based Situational Awareness Software Development - Starling Mission Follow-On

Notice Date

4/26/2026 5:29:01 PM
 

Notice Type

Presolicitation
 

NAICS

541715 — Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)
 

Contracting Office

NASA AMES RESEARCH CENTER MOFFETT FIELD CA 94035 USA
 

ZIP Code

94035
 

Solicitation Number

80ARC026R0004
 

Response Due

4/28/2026 3:00:00 PM
 

Archive Date

05/13/2026
 

Point of Contact

Joshua Taggart
 

E-Mail Address

joshua.d.taggart@nasa.gov
(joshua.d.taggart@nasa.gov)
 

Small Business Set-Aside

NONE No Set aside used
 

Description

NASA/ARC has a requirement for software development services in support of the NASA Starling formation-flying mission. Specifically, the contractor shall develop and deliver software upgrades enabling autonomous swarm space situational awareness and control for four 6U CubeSats in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), including resident space object identification and tracking, autonomous orbit determination, swarm geometry maintenance and reconfiguration, onboard conjunction assessment, and multi-satellite autonomous orbit determination using optical sensors. All software shall execute autonomously on-orbit using the CubeSats' existing computational resources. The period of performance is from date of award through January 20, 2027. NASA/ARC intends to issue a sole-source contract to acquire these services from EraDrive, Inc. under the authority of FAR 6.302-1 (only one responsible source). EraDrive, Inc. holds the proprietary EraDrive autonomy software currently integrated into and operating on the Starling CubeSats. No other source possesses the technical data, codebase, or institutional knowledge required to perform this effort within the available performance window. The Government intends to acquire a commercial product or service using FAR Part 12. Interested organizations may submit their capabilities and qualifications to perform the effort electronically via email to Joshua Taggart, Contracting Officer, at joshua.d.taggart@nasa.gov not later than 5:00 PM PDT on April 28, 2026. Such capabilities and qualifications will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct this acquisition on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to compete this acquisition on a full and open competition basis, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at: https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf
 

Web Link

SAM.gov Permalink
(https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/93ceb2271b924ca98c127c9ee3739b9e/view)
 

Place of Performance

Address: Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA

Zip Code: 94304

Country: USA
 

Record

SN07791551-F 20260428/260426230034 (samdaily.us)
 

Source

SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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