NASA launches $425M hydrosphere research support recompete

NASA has opened the window for industry to start working on and submitting proposals in pursuit of the five-year, $425 million recompete of a contract focused on fundamental and applied science research into Earth's water bodies.

The Hydrosphere, Biosphere & Geophysics Support Services II contract is set up to cover the full range of research offerings that span data product development and validation, instrument development, and numerical modeling activities.

HBG II is reserved for small businesses and hybrid in nature with the ability to issue cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price task orders, NASA said in its Wednesday notice to release the final solicitation.

Science Systems and Applications Inc. won the incumbent contract in 2020 and has received $484 million in task order obligations since, according to GovTribe data. The contract is slated to sunset on March 31, 2027.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center uses the contract to acquire industry support for conceiving, developing and applying both field-deployed and laboratory-based technologies to address societal issues.

The request for proposals cites example issues such as water resources, weather forecasting, natural disasters and hazards, agriculture, land and ocean ecosystems, global and regional sea level changes, changes in the Earth’s cryosphere, gravity field, magnetic field, the solid Earth, and the terrestrial reference frame.

Goddard also created the HBG contract to aid scientific, research and computing activities in its Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory that develops data processing systems and satellite-derived Earth science products.

Bids for HBG II are due by 2 p.m. Eastern time on Dec. 4.