Government Space Contracts: How to Win SBIR, STTR, and Prime Contracts

The United States government is the single largest customer in the space industry. Between NASA, the Department of Defense, the Space Force, NOAA, the NRO, and other agencies, federal space spending exceeds $60 billion annually. For startups and small businesses, this represents an enormous opportunity, but one that is notoriously difficult to navigate. The procurement system is complex, the compliance requirements are substantial, and the competition is fierce. This guide breaks down the three primary pathways for small companies to win government space contracts: SBIR, STTR, and prime contracts.

SBIR: Small Business Innovation Research

The SBIR program is the single most important funding mechanism for space startups seeking government contracts. Established in 1982, SBIR requires federal agencies with extramural R&D budgets exceeding $100 million to allocate 3.2% of that budget to small business innovation contracts. For space-relevant agencies, the numbers are significant:

• NASA SBIR/STTR: ~$250 million annually across 10+ topic areas
• DoD (including Space Force): ~$2.5 billion annually across all services, with substantial space-related topics under USSF, DARPA, MDA, and AFRL
• DOE: ~$350 million annually, with space-relevant topics in advanced materials, nuclear propulsion, and power systems
• NSF: ~$220 million annually, with space science and technology topics

SBIR Phases

SBIR contracts progress through three phases:

Phase I: Feasibility Study

• Award size: $50,000 to $275,000 (varies by agency; NASA typically $150,000, DoD up to $275,000)
• Duration: 6-12 months
• Purpose: Establish technical feasibility and commercial potential
• Win rate: Approximately 15-25% of proposals
• Key requirement: Demonstrate that the proposed innovation addresses the agency's specific technical need

Phase II: Full R&D

• Award size: $500,000 to $1.85 million (NASA typically $750,000, DoD up to $1.85 million)
• Duration: 24 months
• Purpose: Develop a prototype or working technology
• Eligibility: Phase I awardees only (with rare exceptions)
• Win rate: Approximately 40-50% of Phase I awardees proceed to Phase II

Phase III: Commercialization

• Award size: No statutory limit; funded by the agency's operational budget, not SBIR set-aside
• Duration: Varies
• Purpose: Transition the technology to operational use or commercial market
• Key insight: Phase III is where the real money is. A Phase III contract can be worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. Any federal agency can fund a Phase III, not just the agency that funded Phases I and II.

Winning SBIR Proposals: What Evaluators Look For

1. Technical merit (40-50% of score): Is the proposed approach technically sound? Does the team have the expertise to execute? Is the innovation truly novel?
2. Commercial potential (20-30%): Is there a viable market beyond the government? Can the technology be manufactured at scale? What is the addressable market?
3. Agency need alignment (20-30%): Does the proposal directly address the solicitation topic? Does the proposer understand the operational context?
4. Team and past performance (10%): Has the team delivered on previous SBIR/STTR awards? What is the company's transition rate from Phase I to Phase II to Phase III?

STTR: Small Business Technology Transfer

The STTR program is similar to SBIR but requires a formal partnership between a small business and a research institution (university, FFRDC, or nonprofit research organization). The research institution must perform at least 30% of the work in Phase I and 40% in Phase II.

When to Use STTR vs. SBIR

• Use STTR when: Your technology is based on university research, you need access to specialized facilities (national labs, university wind tunnels, clean rooms), or the PI is a university professor who will contribute substantially to the R&D.
• Use SBIR when: Your company can perform the majority of the work in-house and you want to retain maximum IP control.

STTR IP Considerations

A critical STTR issue is intellectual property. The small business and research institution must negotiate an IP agreement before submitting the proposal. Key points to negotiate:

• Background IP: What each party brings to the collaboration
• Foreground IP: Who owns inventions created during the contract
• Licensing rights: Exclusive vs. non-exclusive licenses
• Publication rights: Can the university publish research results? (Usually yes, with a delay for patent filing)

Prime Contracts: Direct Government Awards

Beyond SBIR/STTR, small businesses can compete for prime contracts directly. This is more challenging but offers much larger contract values. Key pathways include:

Set-Aside Contracts

The federal government sets aside a percentage of contracts for small businesses. In FY2025, the government-wide small business contracting goal was 23% of prime contract dollars. For space-related contracts:

• Small Business Set-Asides: Contracts reserved exclusively for small businesses (SBA size standards apply; for most space/aerospace NAICS codes, the limit is 1,000-1,500 employees or $41.5M in average annual revenue)
• 8(a) Business Development: Set-asides for socially and economically disadvantaged businesses
• HUBZone: Set-asides for businesses in Historically Underutilized Business Zones
• SDVOSB: Set-asides for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses
• WOSB: Set-asides for Women-Owned Small Businesses

Full and Open Competition

Small businesses can also compete against large companies in full and open competitions. This is challenging but not impossible, particularly for niche technologies where small companies have technical superiority. Key strategies:

• Teaming arrangements: Partner with a large company as a subcontractor, then build past performance for future prime contract bids
• Mentor-protege programs: DoD and NASA both have mentor-protege programs that pair small businesses with large prime contractors
• OTA (Other Transaction Authority): Increasingly used for space contracts, OTAs have fewer compliance requirements than traditional contracts and are often more accessible to non-traditional contractors

Key Space Contract Vehicles

Several large government contract vehicles are specifically relevant to space companies:

• NASA SEWP (Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement): IT products and services, including space-related computing and communications
• NSSL (National Security Space Launch): Launch services for national security payloads; currently limited to SpaceX and ULA, but new entrants are being evaluated
• CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services): Lunar delivery services, open to qualified companies
• Space RCO rapid prototyping: The Space Rapid Capabilities Office uses streamlined procurement for urgent space capabilities
• SpaceWERX: The Space Force's innovation arm, modeled on AFWERX, offering SBIR, pitch days, and Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) awards

Registration and Prerequisites

Before bidding on any government contract, companies must complete several registrations:

1. SAM.gov registration: System for Award Management; required for all federal contracts. Register at sam.gov and renew annually.
2. DUNS/UEI number: Unique Entity Identifier, obtained through SAM.gov
3. SBA size certification: Confirm your small business status and applicable NAICS codes
4. CAGE code: Commercial and Government Entity code, required for DoD contracts
5. Facility clearance (if needed): Classified contracts require a facility security clearance, which can take 6-18 months to obtain
6. ITAR/EAR compliance: Space-related work almost always requires compliance with export control regulations

Finding Opportunities

Government space contract opportunities are posted on several platforms:

• SAM.gov: The primary federal procurement portal where all contracts above $25,000 must be posted
• SBIR.gov: Central portal for all SBIR/STTR solicitations across all agencies
• NASA Acquisition Internet Service: NASA-specific procurement opportunities
• SpaceWERX: Space Force innovation solicitations
• Beta.SAM.gov contract data: Historical contract award data for competitive intelligence

Proposal Best Practices

Based on patterns from successful space contract proposals:

• Start small: Win SBIR Phase I awards first to build past performance and agency relationships
• Attend industry days: Pre-solicitation events where agencies discuss upcoming needs. These are invaluable for understanding what the government actually wants.
• Hire a capture manager: For contracts above $5M, a dedicated capture manager who understands the acquisition process pays for itself many times over
• Build relationships: Government program managers attend conferences (SATELLITE, Space Symposium, SmallSat). Meet them. Understand their mission.
• Focus on transition: SBIR evaluators increasingly prioritize companies that demonstrate a clear path from research to operational deployment
• Understand color team reviews: For large proposals, implement pink team, red team, and gold team reviews to stress-test your proposal before submission
• Price realistically: Lowballing wins price-competitive contracts but leads to performance problems. Government evaluators are skeptical of unrealistically low prices on best-value procurements.

The government space market is growing. The Space Force alone increased its budget from $15.4 billion in FY2021 to over $30 billion in FY2026. NASA's budget is about $24.4 billion (FY2026 enacted). For small companies with innovative technologies, the opportunity has never been larger. But winning requires understanding the system, building relationships, and executing disciplined proposals.

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