SAM #80ARC026R0004

NASA Ames seeks autonomous situational awareness software upgrades for Starling CubeSats

NASA Ames Research Center is seeking specialized software development services to enhance autonomous situational awareness and control for the Starling CubeSat mission. - Government Buyer: - National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) - NASA Ames Research Center - OEM/Vendor: - EraDrive, Inc. (proprietary autonomy software developer) - Products/Services Requested: - Software upgrades for four 6U Starling CubeSats in Low Earth Orbit - Capabilities to include: - Resident space object identification and tracking - Autonomous orbit determination - Swarm geometry maintenance and reconfiguration - Onboard conjunction assessment - Multi-satellite autonomous orbit determination using optical sensors - All software must run autonomously on existing CubeSat hardware - Unique Requirements: - Sole-source procurement due to EraDrive, Inc.'s proprietary codebase and technical data - No commercial hardware or COTS products requested; this is a service-based software development requirement - Period of Performance: - From contract award through January 20, 2027 - Places of Performance and Delivery: - NASA Ames Research Center (contracting office) - Palo Alto, California (place of performance)

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 does not intend to acquire a commercial product or commercial 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

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