HAMPTON, Va. - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Langley Research Center (LaRC) is seeking industry proposals to provide spacecraft, launch, integration, and mission operations services for the Geostationary Littoral Imaging and Monitoring Radiometer (GLIMR), a hyperspectral ocean-color sensor designed to operate from geostationary Earth orbit (GEO).
The anticipated firm-fixed-price contract will provide Access to Space (ATS) services required to integrate the GLIMR payload onto a spacecraft, place the observatory into the specified GEO orbit, complete in-orbit checkout, and conduct baseline and extended mission operations.
Under the contract, the selected contractor will provide spacecraft and launch vehicle services; integration planning; spacecraft-payload integration; ground system design, integration, testing, and readiness; pre-launch processing; launch support; in-orbit checkout; and on-orbit spacecraft and instrument operations.
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GLIMR is designed to host a geostationary hyperspectral ocean-color instrument capable of repeatedly observing coastal and ocean regions across the Western Hemisphere. According to NASA, the mission will provide high-frequency measurements to study rapidly changing ecological, biogeochemical, and physical processes, including phytoplankton blooms, coastal features, sediment transport, carbon exchanges, harmful algal blooms, oil spills, and Sargassum accumulation events.
GEO stationary
Unlike many Earth-observation spacecraft operating in low Earth orbit (LEO), which provide periodic revisits as they pass over a target region, a GEO-based sensor can continuously observe a fixed area over extended periods. This capability is intended to enable monitoring of short-timescale events that evolve over hours to days, while placing additional spacecraft engineering demands on pointing accuracy, optical calibration, thermal stability, and long-duration operations.
The contractor will be responsible for designing, integrating, and testing the GLIMR spacecraft and ground segment. This includes developing mechanical, electrical, thermal, and software interfaces between the spacecraft and payload, as well as providing the infrastructure required to route commands and data between the GLIMR Observatory, the GLIMR Mission Operations Center (GMOC), and NASA’s GLIMR Science Data Segment (GSDS).
The GSDS, operated by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, will receive raw mission data from the GMOC, generate science products, and deliver data products to designated Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) locations for public access and permanent archive. The ground segment architecture will require reliable communications, data-transfer pathways, interface verification, and operational processes to support spacecraft command and control as well as science-data delivery.
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NASA requires the contractor to maintain configuration management processes for GLIMR-related spacecraft software and engineering interfaces and operate a quality management system compliant with SAE AS9100, Quality Systems - Aerospace - Model for Quality Assurance in Design, Development, Production, Installation and Servicing.
The contractor also will be responsible for mission support activities including radio-frequency licensing, orbital slot authorization, orbital debris requirements, spacecraft end-of-life disposal planning, and safety practices protecting personnel, data, and government property.
NASA will provide the GLIMR payload to the selected contractor for integration and testing with the spacecraft. The contractor will support payload integration, observatory testing, launch readiness activities, launch operations, in-orbit checkout, and baseline mission operations.
NASA expects to award the contract in January 2027, with an immediate contract effective date. The acquisition will be conducted as full and open competition and has a potential period of performance of five years, including a 36-month base period and two 12-month option periods.
NASA requests responses to this inquiry by 4 p.m. Eastern on 4 September 2026. The agency named Ashley Korahaes as the primary point of contact for this project. They can be reached via email at [email protected]. More information is available at https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/0bcb83b0a98d45beb95d1a53f52b2454/view.
