NASA · GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Geophysics Support Services II
Build an integrated Earth-science team before the final RFP sets the proposal clock.
Pre-RFP | Total Small Business Set-Aside | NAICS 541715
Draft maximum ordering value
Draft effective ordering period
Anticipated proposal turnaround after final release
Watch the GDI Consulting HBG II BidCAST
An independent capture, teaming and proposal-planning perspective on HBG II. The agency’s final solicitation and amendments control.
Watch the full HBG II BidCAST on YouTube. Includes AI-generated illustrations and generic synthetic narration. Claims were checked against the cited public sources.
Solicitation Summary
NASA Goddard is preparing a follow-on requirement for scientific research, engineering, computing and mission support across Earth-system science. The draft covers six laboratories and connects satellite observations, modeling, field campaigns, instruments and data services. The current special notice signals a forthcoming final RFP, making this a capture-readiness window rather than a confirmed open submission period.
Draft terms are provisional: this profile combines the October 9, 2026 special notice with the public April 2025 draft RFP, cover letter and statement of work. A January 2026 Q&A attachment was access-protected and could not be reviewed. Verify any clarifications, the final solicitation and all amendments before relying on specific requirements.
Solicitation in a Nutshell
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Agency | National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Space Flight Center, Earth Sciences Division. |
| Official draft solicitation | 80GSFC25R7003 — Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Geophysics (HBG) Support Services II. |
| Current status | Pre-RFP planning. The October 9, 2026 special notice anticipates a final RFP; it does not itself release one. |
| Anticipated release / response period | The October 9 notice anticipates final RFP release within two weeks and a 45-day proposal turnaround. These are planning statements. Confirm the final release and actual response deadline on SAM.gov. |
| Proposal deadline | No confirmed proposal deadline is established by the reviewed October 9 notice. October 31 is the notice archive date, not the bid due date. |
| Competition / size standard | Current notice: Total Small Business set-aside. Draft: 1,000-employee size standard. Confirm eligibility under the final solicitation and applicable rules. |
| NAICS / PSC | NAICS 541715 — Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology). PSC AJ11. |
| Draft value | Maximum ordering value of $471 million; minimum $5 million. These are April 2025 draft terms, not a final ceiling, award value or guaranteed revenue. |
| Draft contract structure | Single-award IDIQ, cost-plus-fixed-fee task orders and a five-year effective ordering period. A separate fixed-price phase-in is contemplated. |
| Place of performance | Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, and contractor facilities, as described in the draft. |
| Draft proposal volumes | I: Offer; II: Mission Suitability; III: Cost; IV: Past Performance. |
| Draft page limits | Mission Suitability: 55 pages. Cost basis of estimates: 15 pages for the prime and each significant subcontractor individually. Past Performance: 30 pages combined for prime and significant subcontractors. Specified exclusions apply; final instructions control. |
| Draft evaluation | Trade-off. Individually: Mission Suitability > Cost > Past Performance. Combined Mission Suitability and Past Performance are significantly more important than cost. Mission Suitability: Technical Approach 400 points; Management Approach 600 points. |
| Official sources | October 9 intended-final-RFP special notice · April 2025 draft RFP notice |
Background
The requirement supports Cryospheric Sciences, Ocean Ecology, Hydrological Sciences, Biospheric Sciences, Geodesy and Geophysics, and Terrestrial Information Systems. Research areas span water resources, ecosystems, sea-level change, snow and ice, natural hazards and geodesy.
For capture teams, the differentiator is the connection between scientific excellence and reliable delivery: maintaining data continuity, integrating specialist teams, managing task orders and pricing the workforce credibly. The draft’s management weighting makes operational proof especially important.
GDI Capture Take: Pursue with Conditions. Prime with a credible integrated team, accounting readiness, realistic staffing economics and relevant evidence. If capabilities are concentrated in one specialty, consider a teammate role rather than overstating prime readiness. This is GDI’s planning assessment, not an agency evaluation decision.
Requirements
The following combines draft requirements with clearly identified capture-planning implications. It is not a substitute for the final compliance matrix.
01 Science, Data & Mission Support
The draft calls for modeling, simulation and data assimilation; scientific mission planning and execution; data archiving and distribution; satellite-instrument performance analysis; and field-campaign support. Build a traceable capability-and-evidence map rather than a generic science narrative.
02 Management & Workforce Continuity
Management carries 600 of the draft’s 1,000 Mission Suitability points. Show program-manager authority, cross-laboratory coordination, recruitment and retention, subcontractor integration and repeatable task-order execution. The draft contains conflicting 30- and 45-day phase-in references; confirm the final duration.
03 Cost Realism & Accounting Readiness
The draft treats an adequate accounting system as an award prerequisite for cost-reimbursement work. It evaluates cost realism and probable cost. Align labor rates, staffing commitments, bases of estimate and technical resources. Low proposed rates without credible staffing economics can create evaluation risk.
04 Teaming & Prime Readiness
A qualified small-business prime needs an integrated delivery model across the required science and support areas. Specialist firms may be better positioned as teammates. Resolve gaps in scientific disciplines, scientific computing, calibration and field operations with accountable roles. Evaluate joint-venture arrangements and subcontracting limitations against final requirements.
05 Past Performance & Relevance
The draft looks at recent, relevant work and weights prime past performance more heavily than subcontractor experience. Its size thresholds concern reference relevance, not an automatic prohibition on bidding; a neutral rating can apply to an offeror without recent relevant performance. Cost and past-performance sections use different significant-subcontractor definitions. Do not interchange them.
06 Compliance & Submission
Create a provisional L/M compliance matrix and scenario outlines now. The draft requests searchable bookmarked PDFs and cost exhibits in Excel with formulas, and contemplates NASA EFSS Box submission rather than email attachments. Confirm the final upload destination, contacts, advance-notice steps, page limits and due date. Screen OCI, export-control, access and IT-security obligations early; do not invent a clearance or certification requirement.
How Can GDIC Help?
GDI Consulting can support pursuit qualification, capture strategy, teaming-gap analysis, compliance planning and evidence organization before the final RFP arrives.
When final requirements are available, our team can support proposal planning and writing, cross-volume consistency, Red Team reviews and surge capacity. Keep the scientific approach, management model and cost narrative aligned from the outset.
Source basis: October 9, 2026 special notice and April 2025 draft solicitation package. Verified October 17, 2026. Draft terms, anticipated dates and analysis are identified as such. This is independent GDI Consulting analysis; no NASA endorsement is implied. Includes AI-generated illustrations and generic synthetic narration. Claims were checked against the cited public sources.