Space Force Awards $981M NITE-STAR Range and Test Engineering Contract
The U.S. Space Force has selected 15 companies for a six-year, $981 million contract to advance software, hardware, and synthetic simulation capabilities across its space range and training infrastructure.
The U.S. Space Force has selected 15 contractors for a six-year, $981 million contract vehicle dedicated to modernizing its national test, evaluation, and range infrastructure. Designated as the National Space Test and Training Complex Innovative Technology and Engineering - Space Test and Range Capability Development (NSTTC NITE-STAR), the contract supports System Delta 81 and the Operational Test and Training Infrastructure (OTTI) program office headquartered at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. The Department of the Air Force chose 15 awardees from a field of 20 proposals, setting up a competitive environment for upcoming task orders across live, physical, and synthetic domain ranges.
The awardee list showcases a deliberate blend of legacy defense prime contractors and agile commercial space startups. Winning vendors include Amentum, BAE Systems, Boeing, CACI International, L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Parsons, alongside commercial space specialists Firefly Aerospace, Redwire, Rocket Lab, Sierra Space, Viasat, York Space Systems, and Pacific Crest Alliance (a joint venture between La Jolla Logic and Sierra Nevada Corp.). Solicitations for task orders will span four core technical pillars: software development, hardware engineering, modeling and simulation, and physical range infrastructure enhancement.
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