Thursday, February 27, 2025

Airborne weather surveillance contract announced for Space Force

The U.S. Space Force is seeking a contractor to provide airborne weather surveillance services for space launches from the Western Range located at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The military said in contract documents released Wednesday that the Western Range requires the capability to obtain aircraft flight services to support Space Launch Delta 30 (SLD 30) operations. Assigned to Space Systems Command and headquartered at Vandenberg, SLD 30 is responsible for all space launch operations from the U.S. West Coast.

The contractor will arrange for and provide an instrumented weather surveillance aircraft capable of operating under all weather conditions during day or night to an altitude of 32,000 feet (service ceiling), be able to attain speeds of 250 knots, and be able to descend to a hard deck of 3,000 feet MSL. The contractor will also have the capability to provide a second aircraft at the stand-by location as a backup to the primary aircraft.

The crew aboard the aircraft will provide weather observation data (e.g., cloud type, cloud base/height/ thickness/location, temperature, wind, turbulence, status of precipitation, lightning observations, etc.) to the Launch Weather Officer and/or Frontier Control for up to four hours.

Under a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA), the contract will run from April 8, 2025, to April 7, 2028. The 30th Contracting Squadron (30 CONS) is managing the contract.

“The government will award one or more BPAs to the offeror(s) who provide prices that are deemed fair and reasonable,” the 30 CONS said in documents. Companies interested in providing the support are invited to respond with a quote by March 25.

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