Space Power and Reactor Capabilities (SPARC) - Sources Sought Notice - NASA GLENN RESEARCH CENTER

Description

NASA intends to issue the Space Power and Reactor Capabilities (SPARC) Final Request for Proposals (RFP) via sam.gov on or around November 20, 2026. A Sources Sought Notice for SPARC was posted to sam.gov on August 3, 2026, entitled "Space Power and Reactor Capabilities (SPARC) - Sources Sought Notice" and under Notice ID 80GRC026SPARC. A Draft RFP for SPARC was posted to sam.gov on August 30, 2026, entitled " Space Power and Reactor Capabilities (SPARC) - Draft Request for Proposals (DRFP)" and under Notice ID 80GRC026R0009. Interested parties are highly encouraged to review the Draft RFP posting for information regarding the acquisition including the Industry Day Presentation and Questions and Answers. The Notice ID for the SPARC Final RFP is likely be updated due to it being released in Government Fiscal Year (GFY) 2027. SPARC will be competed as a Multiple-Award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (MAIDIQ) contract to provide for the design, development, analysis, fabrication, assembly, verification, validation, test, evaluation, certification, delivery (ground and/or space), and sustaining maintenance and operations of space nuclear systems, subsystems, hardware, materials, and software. Specifically, SPARC is intended to be NASA's preferred contractual mechanism for the competition and award of task orders related to the Design, Deveopment, Test, and Evaluation (DDT&E) of the Lunar Reactor - 1 (LR-1) system. Concurrent with (and as part of) the competition and award of SPARC, NASA intends to compete the first task order to be awarded under SPARC in the LR-1 Phase 1 Task Order. This task order represents the first step in the development of LR-1 and provides for the following objectives: Objective 1. Develop a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) level design for LR-1 that achieves the defined requirements and ensures the technology readiness is sufficient to proceed to flight system development. Objective 2. Perform an electrically-heated integrated system test in a relevant environment (as defined by the requirements) that incorporates representative versions of the key subsystems (an engineering test unit (ETU)). Objective 3. Perform component-level radiation exposure testing to demonstrate the LR-1 design will operate as intended within the induced (reactor) and natural (Lunar surface) radiation environments.

Classification

NAICS

541715

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

54├Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

541├Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

5417├Scientific Research and Development Services

54171├Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences

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

PSC

AR15

SPACE R&D SVCS; SPACE FLIGHT, RESEARCH & SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES; R&D FACILITIES & MAJ EQUIP

A├RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

AR├Space R&D Services

AR15└SPACE R&D SVCS; SPACE FLIGHT, RESEARCH & SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES; R&D FACILITIES & MAJ EQUIP

Set-aside

No Set aside used

Space Power and Reactor Capabilities (SPARC) - Sources Sought Notice

Description

Points of contact

Contracting office

Classification

Documents