Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Space Technology Advanced Research (STAR)
Dept of Defense · Dept of the Air Force · Sol. FA9453-19-S-0002
Due in 1261 days
Track this notice by email. We'll email you if it's amended or awarded, and a week and two days before responses are due.
AI summary Beta
Some details weren't available to this summary, so it may miss requirements. Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate (Kirtland AFB, NM) runs an open-ended Advanced Research Announcement called STAR. It asks companies to send short white papers (step 1 of a two-step process) on space technology research, prototyping and testing, and may later invite a few for full proposals. The announcement says it expects multiple awards from $50,000 to $100,000,000, with no single offer due date.
Watch out for
- Deadline fields conflict. SAM.gov shows a response deadline of 2030-03-25, but the notice says there is no offers due date, so do not plan around the SAM.gov date.
there is no offers due date for this STAR OPEN ARA
- Two-step process: white paper first. Only white papers are being solicited now; a full proposal is accepted only if the Government asks for one, so a company that is not invited after step 1 cannot go further.
ONLY WHITE PAPERS ARE BEING SOLICITED AT THIS TIME.
- No guarantee of any award. The Air Force can fund none, one or many white papers, so writing one may not lead to money.
the Air Force reserves the right to award zero, one, or more
- Possible Top Secret clearance and export-control requirements. Some awards may need a Top Secret facility clearance, and all need export-control paperwork; a small business without cleared facilities may be shut out of some topics.
awards under this effort may require a TOP SECRET facility clearance and TOP SECRET
- Cost-type awards need a DCAA-approved accounting system. Without one, you can only be considered for firm-fixed-price or non-FAR agreements.
accounting system, Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee, and Cost Contracts cannot be awarded.
- Strict white paper format and a request-first submission step. Papers that break the template rules or lack a full coversheet are rejected, and you must first email the contracting officers to get a DoD SAFE upload link.
Your completed document must be no more than six total pages
- Data rights asks are heavy. The Government wants unlimited or government purpose rights, and you must list every restriction you assert; missing or vague lists can be rejected or default to unlimited rights.
The Government desires Unlimited Rights or Government Purpose
- Conflict of interest analysis required. You must do your own analysis of conflicts across all your federal work and may face limits on later Government work if an award is made.
the Offeror will be required to perform its own OCI analysis and submit
- Notice text lags the newest amendment; old instructions still attached. The SAM.gov text points to Amendment 5 (5 Dec 2024), but Amendment 6 (18 May 2026) is attached and replaces earlier text. Old attachments still show the retired Army AMRDEC SAFE and mailed-CD methods and older contacts, so follow the updated announcement and the DoD SAFE route.
Read from the notice and 10 attachments.
- STAR Amendment 6.pdf
- Amendment 5 (v2).pdf
- STAR-White-Paper-Template-Amendment-4.pdf
- OPEN_ARA_Announcement_Amendment 4_FINAL.pdf
- OPEN_ARA_Announcement_Amendment 3_16 Feb 2023.pdf
- OPEN_ARA_Announcement_Amendment 2_15 Mar 2021.pdf
- OPEN_ARA_Announcement_Amendment_1_dated_14_Aug_2019.pdf
- STAR ARA Ancmnt Updated 18May26.pdf
- OPEN_ARA_Announcement_Amentment 3 -_FINAL.pdf
- OPEN_ARA_Announcement_-_FINAL.pdf
Full brief
What they want
- Topic Area 1: spacecraft parts and subsystems (deployable structures, thermal control, power, guidance and control, autonomy) plus space logistics such as on-orbit servicing and debris mitigation
- Topic Area 2: mission capabilities and space services (space-based sensing, space communications hardware, positioning/navigation/timing, quantum sensing, reentry control, modeling and simulation testbeds)
- Topic Area 3: tools and sensors to detect and tell apart natural and man-made threats and anomalies affecting spacecraft, including cyber threat warning
- Topic Area 4: space battle management and command and control (data fusion, machine learning/AI, autonomy, integrating allied and commercial capabilities)
- Research, modeling and simulation, fabrication, experiments, testing, demonstrations and prototypes across these areas, from early proof of concept up to full system or satellite demonstrations
- Deliverables set per award: a final report 3 months after the technical work ends; program plans, monthly status/financial reports, presentation materials and patent reports; software and hardware as negotiated
- Contract type
- Open Advanced Research Announcement (ARA). The Air Force may award FAR contracts (cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost, firm-fixed-price), Other Transactions, Technology Investment Agreements or cooperative agreements, and picks the type per award
- Period of performance
- Not set for the announcement. Each offeror proposes its own period; the white paper template says to allow 90 days for drafting the final report
- Place of performance
- Not fixed. Awards are run from AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate, Kirtland AFB, NM; proposals must say which work is done on the base and which off-site. The SAM.gov place of performance field is blank
- Estimated value
- Total program value unspecified; multiple awards ranging from $50,000 to $100,000,000
- Contract vehicle
- AFRL Space Technology Advanced Research (STAR) Open ARA FA9453-19-S-0002, under 10 U.S.C. 4023 (procurement for experimental purposes)
- How they'll choose
- Two-step process. White papers are scored by Government evaluators against the template's headings; full proposals are accepted only if the Government requests them. Weights and the full proposal evaluation criteria are not in the text provided
- Offers due
- No offer due date. The notice says there is none; the SAM.gov deadline field shows 2030-03-25T00:00:00-06:00 only because a date is required
- How to submit
- DoD SAFE (https://safe.apps.mil/). Before you can upload, email the STAR Contracting Officer contacts named in the template to request a DoD SAFE Drop-Off Request; they send back the upload link
- Page limits
- White paper: 6 pages total (1 coversheet page plus 5 pages of content), 11-point font, template margins unchanged
What they'll judge offers on
- Part 1 Problem Definition: (a) problem being solved, (b) product summary
- Part 2 Relevance to AFRL Needs: (a) problem alignment with the topic areas, (b) problem magnitude, (c) operational impact, (d) scale, (e) degree of innovation
- Part 3 Scientific and Engineering Viability: (a) scientific feasibility, (b) enabling technologies, (c) alternative technical approaches, (d) technical personnel
- Part 4 Project Plan: (a) project schedule, (b) rough order of magnitude cost estimate, (c) hypothesis, testing and measurement, (d) appropriateness of measurement
- Part 5 Value / Cost: (a) benefit to the Air Force, (b) funding availability
- Overall document quality: clarity of prose and data quality/attribution
What to include when you submit
- Use the provided STAR White Paper Template (download a fresh copy before submitting) and keep its order and headings
- Fill in the full coversheet (title, company, size to NAICS 541715, CAGE, DUNS, POCs, clearance level, cognizant security office, period of performance, ROM cost, contract/agreement type, GFP, data rights, validity date, teaming/subcontractors); a white paper without a complete coversheet is not accepted
- Delete the instructions page and all purple prompt text, then save as a searchable PDF
- White papers are unclassified; if a classified white paper is needed, contact the contracting officers for delivery instructions and do not send classified material by email
- Full proposals are not accepted or evaluated unless the Government requests them
- Tell the Contracting Officer in advance that you plan to submit a white paper (a courtesy, not a commitment)
You must have
- Active SAM.gov registration before award
Offeror must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM).
- No set-aside. The size standard is 1,000 employees under NAICS 541715; business size to that NAICS code goes on the white paper coversheet
the small business size standard is 1,000 employees.
- For cost-type awards (cost-plus-fixed-fee or cost contracts), an accounting system approved by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA)
accounting system, Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee, and Cost Contracts cannot be awarded.
- Some awards may need a Top Secret facility clearance and safeguarding capability, a DD Form 254, and a current cognizant security office record
awards under this effort may require a TOP SECRET facility clearance and TOP SECRET
- Export control compliance (ITAR/EAR) and a certified DD Form 2345 (Militarily Critical Technical Data Agreement) submitted with the proposal
Militarily Critical Technical Data Agreement, will be required to be submitted with
- Small business subcontracting plan with the proposal where required, and an organizational conflict of interest analysis (with a mitigation plan if a conflict is found)
Small business subcontracting plans are required in
- If proposing an assistance agreement, a written commitment to Gold Standard Science (reproducible, transparent, peer-reviewed science) and benchmarks for measuring success
Our institution understands the definition of Gold Standard Science as
Not in the notice text
- Part of the middle of the three full announcement files (including section III eligibility details, the full proposal instructions in section IV and section V evaluation criteria and weights) was cut off in the text provided
- Scoring weights for the white paper parts are not shown, and the white paper template lists five parts while its own instructions say Parts 1 to 3 must fit on five pages
- How and when the Government decides to ask for a full proposal after a white paper, and how long a white paper stays under review
- Funding available per topic area or per year; the $50,000 to $100,000,000 range is the only value given
- Exact period of performance, deliverables, and whether work happens on Kirtland AFB; these are set per award
- Which contract type (FAR contract, Other Transaction or cooperative agreement) a given award will use
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Key facts
- Response due
- Mar 25, 2030, 6:00 AM UTC
- Posted
- May 18, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Solicitation
- FA9453-19-S-0002
- Agency
- Dept of Defense · Dept of the Air Force
- Office
- FA9453 Afrl RVK
- NAICS
- 541715
- Product/service code
- AC33
- Business type
- Engineering, architecture & research
- Contracting contact
- Daniel J. Alvaradodaniel.alvarado.12@spaceforce.mil5058534755
- Versions
- 9 (amended since first posted)
What similar contracts paid
87 contracts at this agency for the same NAICS and product/service codes had activity in the last 5 years, according to USAspending.gov. Small businesses won 25% of the dollars in this market over the last 3 fiscal years.
Typical contract$3.1MMiddle half: $1.6M to $12.7M
Typical per year$1.3MValue divided by years of performance
Before you respond
Full notice text from SAM.gov
SEE OPEN ARA ANNOUNCEMENT, AMENDMENT 5 Final DATED 5 DEC 2024 Attention: On the General Information section, there is no offers due date for this STAR OPEN ARA. Date Offer Due is a required field in the beta.sam.gov.
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