NASA starts to build launch services support recompete

NASA has started its work on creating the recompete of an engineering and technical support services contract focused on the agency’s launch services program and sites where liftoff takes place.

In a sources sought notice posted Tuesday, NASA said its planned Evolving Launch Vehicle Integrated Support 4 contract will succeed the current KSC ELVIS 3 contract. ELVIS 4 has an intended start date of no earlier than October 2026.

A.I. Solutions Inc. won the current ELVIS 3 contract in 2016 and has been obligated approximately $338.5 million in task order spend to-date, according to Deltek data.

Full details on ELVIS 4’s requirements remain under construction, but NASA has given industry a first glimpse at what the high-level categories of work will be. The primary performance locations will be Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Those five categories are as follows:

• NASA launch services program safety, reliability and quality engineering and resident office support
• Launch site support engineering
• Launch vehicle insight
• Communications and telemetry
• IT

NASA leaders specifically want to hear from all categories of small businesses, historically black colleges and universities, and other minority-serving institutions. NASA wants this information to determine the type of competition it wants to run and set any related subcontracting goals for the requirement.

The agency will also use the responses to consider whether ELVIS 4 could be a set-aside for categories such as general small business, 8(a), women-owned, service-disabled/veteran-owned, economically disadvantaged women-owned, or HUBZone.

Comments on the RFI are due March 18.