NASA & Space Contracts Intelligence — October 17, 2026

The $17,137,851 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order runs through 2028-09-30 with a $21,669,510 base-plus-options value and $11,042,681 outlayed to date. The recipient is a nonprofit, tax-exempt institution, so no investable equity was identified in the data.

With $11,042,681 outlayed against a $17,137,851 obligation, roughly $6.1M of obligated funds remain to be spent, and up to $4.5M of additional options could be exercised toward the $21,669,510 ceiling. This implies continued NASA spending through the 2028 performance end date, though the data does not confirm annual funding schedules.

The award is marked NOT COMPETED under NAICS 541715 and PSC AR22 with no set-aside, and the competition signal is recorded as unknown. Sole-source status reduces protest exposure but also limits visibility into how recompete dynamics would evolve beyond 2028.

NASA budget trend data is absent from the record, so the ability of NASA JPL to sustain funding for this delivery order through 2028-09-30 cannot be verified against appropriations trajectory.

Only about 51% of the $17,137,851 obligation has been outlaid, and cost-plus-fixed-fee structure places cost-overrun risk on the government rather than the recipient, which dampens recipient-side performance risk but leaves outlay pacing dependent on program execution.

Continued sole-source positioning for California Institute of Technology under the JPL management office provides a durable, protest-resistant revenue stream for space science applied research through 2028.

The sole record reflects NASA applied space science research routed through the JPL management office, with a 10-year cost-plus-fixed-fee structure and $21,669,510 base-plus-options ceiling. Evidence is limited to this single award, so the theme is directional rather than established across multiple contracts.

{"entity" => "California Institute of Technology / NASA JPL", "reason" => "The $17,137,851 obligation carries a $21,669,510 ceiling with $11,042,681 outlayed, and its option structure and outlay progression determine how much of the remaining value converts into actual NASA spending.", "trigger" => "Exercise of remaining options or obligation modification increasing the $17,137,851 total toward $21,669,510, and quarterly outlay updates against the $11,042,681 baseline"}