SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE - STROFIO - PHASE B IS AWARDED FROM ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY (AO) NNM08ZDA009O, STAND ALONE MISSION OF OPPORTUNITY NOTICE (SALMON) ISSUED BY NASA HEADQUARTERS. SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE (SWRI) WAS SELECTED FOR "STROFIO: EXOSPHERIC SAMPLING OF MERCURY'S SURFACE COMPOSITION" WITH DR. STEFANO LIVI AS THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR FOR FUNDING AND APPROVED TO DIRECTLY ENTER PHASE B PRELIMINARY DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY COMPLETION. STROFIO WAS SELECTED BECAUSE IT IS TIMELY AND TAKES ADVANTAGE OF A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR NASA TO PARTICIPATE THROUGH THIS INVESTIGATION IN THE BEPICOLOMBO MISSION. THE ANTICIPATED OBSERVATIONS OF MERCURY'S EXOSPHERE WILL BE UNIQUE AND COMPLEMENTARY TO INVESTIGATIONS CONDUCTED BY MARINER, MESSENGER AND THE OTHER INSTRUMENTS ON BEPICOLOMBO. THE PROPOSED INVESTIGATION WILL PROVIDE VALUABLE INFORMATION ABOUT MERCURY'S EXOSPHERE AND ITS INTERACTION WITH THE MAGNETOSPHERE AND SURFACE. THE STROFIO INSTRUMENT WILL PROVIDE A VALUABLE SCIENTIFIC RETURN, ADDRESSING MANY GOALS OF NASAS PLANETARY SCIENCE PROGRAM.
Key Details
Description
STROFIO - PHASE B IS AWARDED FROM ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY (AO) NNM08ZDA009O, STAND ALONE MISSION OF OPPORTUNITY NOTICE (SALMON) ISSUED BY NASA HEADQUARTERS. SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE (SWRI) WAS SELECTED FOR "STROFIO: EXOSPHERIC SAMPLING OF MERCURY'S SURFACE COMPOSITION" WITH DR. STEFANO LIVI AS THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR FOR FUNDING AND APPROVED TO DIRECTLY ENTER PHASE B PRELIMINARY DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY COMPLETION. STROFIO WAS SELECTED BECAUSE IT IS TIMELY AND TAKES ADVANTAGE OF A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR NASA TO PARTICIPATE THROUGH THIS INVESTIGATION IN THE BEPICOLOMBO MISSION. THE ANTICIPATED OBSERVATIONS OF MERCURY'S EXOSPHERE WILL BE UNIQUE AND COMPLEMENTARY TO INVESTIGATIONS CONDUCTED BY MARINER, MESSENGER AND THE OTHER INSTRUMENTS ON BEPICOLOMBO. THE PROPOSED INVESTIGATION WILL PROVIDE VALUABLE INFORMATION ABOUT MERCURY'S EXOSPHERE AND ITS INTERACTION WITH THE MAGNETOSPHERE AND SURFACE. THE STROFIO INSTRUMENT WILL PROVIDE A VALUABLE SCIENTIFIC RETURN, ADDRESSING MANY GOALS OF NASAS PLANETARY SCIENCE PROGRAM.
Context & Analysis
On Oct 22, 2025, National Aeronautics and Space Administration obligated $33,750,108 to SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE for strofio - phase b is awarded from announcement of opportunity (ao) nnm08zda009o, stand alone mission of opportunity notice (salmon) issued by nasa headquarters. southwest research institute (swri) w…. The award is classified under NAICS 541712 — RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT BIOTECHNOLOGY) and issued as a cost plus fixed fee contract. Competition extent: full and open competition with 1 offer received. The procurement used a NO SET ASIDE USED. set-aside. Performance is located in SAN ANTONIO, TX. The contract is scheduled through Apr 30, 2028. This award is one of several similar procurements from National Aeronautics and Space Administration under NAICS 541712 — related awards are listed below.
Market context
- Recompete outlook
- Ends Apr 30, 2028, in 18 months. Recompete signal as of Oct 18, 2026: 49/100, combining time to the end date, the incumbent's history with this agency, whether the award was competed, and its size.
- Competition
- Competed, with 1 offer. 76% of 67 awards in this market (National Aeronautics and Space Administration awards in NAICS 541712 over the last 3 years) were competed; median 3 offers.
- Award size
- At $33.8M, this award is above the median of the 66 priced National Aeronautics and Space Administration awards in NAICS 541712 over the last 3 years (median $16.1M).
- Incumbent at this agency
- SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE has 18 other awards from National Aeronautics and Space Administration, totalling $1.4B, 2002–2026.
- Largest vendors in this market
By obligations, National Aeronautics and Space Administration awards in NAICS 541712 over the last 3 years.
- KBR WYLE SERVICES, LLC — 5 awards, $5.6B
- AEROJET ROCKETDYNE OF DE, INC — 1 award, $3.2B
- NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION — 2 awards, $2.9B
- HX5 SIERRA LLC — 2 awards, $1.1B
- CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY — 7 awards, $852.5M
Computed from USAspending award data on Oct 18, 2026.
Contractor Information
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IGF::CL::IGF DEEP SPACE NETWORK THE CONTRACT IS THE SPONSORING AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA) AND THE CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (CONTRACTOR), A PRIVATE NONPROFIT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION, WHICH ESTABLISHES THE RELATIONSHIP FOR THE OPERATION OF THE FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER (FFRDC) KNOWN AS THE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY. THE CONTRACTOR, JPL, IS REQUIRED TO PERFORM WORK THAT IS DESIGNATED IN TASK ORDERS ISSUED BY THE NASA MANAGEMENT OFFICE (NMO) CONTRACTING OFFICERS. NASA - SPONSORED WORK: JPL'S PRIMARY MISSION IS TO SUPPORT THE NASA SCIENCE MISSION DIRECTORATE (SMD) IN CARRYING OUT THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES IDENTIFIED IN THE SMD SCIENCE PLAN. THE FOUR BROAD SCIENTIFIC AREAS ARE: EARTH SCIENCE, PLANETARY SCIENCE, HELIOPHYSICS, AND ASTROPHYSICS. IN PERFORMANCE OF THIS CONTRACT, JPL SHALL: 1) SUPPLY A BROAD BASE OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES RELEVANT TO NASA PROGRAM AND PROJECT RESPONSIBILITIES AND ASSIGNMENTS. 2) FOSTER ITS UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP WITH A TOP-TIER UNIVERSITY TO FACILITATE THE INVOLVEMENT OF SCIENTISTS, ENGINEERS, AND STUDENTS FROM THE UNIVERSITY AND RESEARCH COMMUNITIES IN NASA MISSION AND IN SUPPORTING OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. 3) SUPPORT NASA IN ENABLING PROGRAM AND INSTITUTIONAL CAPABILITIES. 4) DEVELOP SPACECRAFT AND INSTRUMENTS THAT ARE SENT TO VARIOUS DESTINATIONS WITH OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, INCLUDING EARTH ORBIT, PLANETS, PLANETARY SATELLITES, ASTEROIDS, AND COMETS. THESE MISSIONS MAY BE ORBITERS, LANDERS, OR ROVERS, AND TYPICALLY INCLUDE CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGIES REQUIRED TO MEET SCIENTIFIC REQUIREMENTS. 5) PERFORM PROJECT TASKS INVOLVING: (I) AUTONOMOUS DEEP-SPACE, INNER-SPACE AND EARTH-ORBITING SPACECRAFT OR MAJOR SUBSYSTEMS, (II) EXPERIMENTS, INSTRUMENTS, OR OTHER DEVICES WHICH MAY BE CARRIED AS PAYLOAD ON SPACECRAFTS IN MISSIONS MANAGED BY OTHERS, AND/OR (III) GROUND-BASED SYSTEMS. 6) BEYOND ITS PRIMARY MISSION, JPL MAY PERFORM WORK FOR OTHER NASA MISSION DIRECTORATES OR OFFICES. 7) JPL IS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OPERATION, RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY INSERTION, AND MANAGEMENT OF NASA S DEEP SPACE NETWORK TO PROVIDE TELECOMMUNICATION AND OPERATION SERVICES, INCLUDING DATA ACQUISITION AND DATA DELIVERY REQUIRED TO MEET ESTABLISHED AGENCY OBJECTIVES. 8) JPL IS ALSO REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN AND CONDUCT AN EDUCATION PROGRAM IN CLOSE COORDINATION WITH THE NASA HEADQUARTERS EDUCATION OFFICE, THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY AT LARGE, AND IN SUPPORT TO NASA STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES TO IMPROVE STUDENT RETENTION IN THE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) DISCIPLINES. WORK FOR NON-NASA SPONSORS: JPL MAY PERFORM WORK FOR NON-NASA SPONSORS. THIS WORK WILL BE DESIGNATED IN TASK ORDERS ISSUED BY NMO CONTRACTING OFFICERS BASED ON TASK PLANS INITIATED BY THE CONTRACTOR.
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