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Contracts · Industrial base

Pentagon awards Biosphere $21 million for chemical plant, Breaking Defense reports

Breaking Defense reports the facility is slated for commissioning in late 2027; Biosphere’s CEO projects about 100 tons of chemicals a year.

The Department of War has awarded Biosphere $21 million to build a facility using genetically engineered microbes to produce chemicals for military supplies, Breaking Defense reported Oct. 28. Breaking Defense did not report the awarding office, the contract type or whether the $21 million is a ceiling or an obligation.1

Biosphere to build a 20,000-liter facility

chemicals for military supplies

projected outputabout 100 tons of chemicals a yearplanned

CEO Brian Heligman told Breaking Defense projected output is about 100 tons of chemicals a year

commissioningfourth quarter of 2027planned

The facility is slated for commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2027

Reported by Breaking Defense

Sources
TGOs tgos.io

Biosphere CEO Brian Heligman argued that the new mid-sized plant can make sufficient quantities for munitions and other military programs without the overhead of a traditional bulk-manufacturing facility. He projected output of about 100 tons a year, small compared with an industrial petrochemical plant producing bulk plastics.1

The California company plans a 20,000-liter facility. It is slated for commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2027. Heligman identified potential products ranging from bio-cement for helicopter landing surfaces to polymer-bonded explosives for weapons such as the Hellfire missile. He declined to disclose specific products, saying the company had held detailed discussions about two or three fine chemicals.1

The award follows another Pentagon award to Biosphere less than six months earlier, worth up to $9 million if all options are exercised. That award was to develop a portable, electrically powered bio-brewery capable of making protein from water and air.1

Breaking Defense reported that bespoke military chemicals such as advanced energetics have little civilian demand. Heligman told the outlet Biosphere intends to use the plant as a demonstration asset to show that its claimed cost advantage translates to much larger facilities.1

Sources (1)
  1. Breaking Defense: Startup Biosphere wins Pentagon contract to scale up production of key chemicals (Oct. 28, 2026) breakingdefense.com
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Contracts · Cyber infrastructure

DISA seeks cloud identity and access prototype for Department of War

Responses are due Nov. 30 for a commercial identity-management prototype. It would operate across IL5 and IL6 environments.

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is seeking a commercial, cloud-hosted identity and access management prototype to modernize the Department of War’s legacy identity infrastructure.1

DISA seeks solutions to prototype a Next Generation E-ICAM capability

Enterprise Identity, Credential, and Access Management (E-ICAM)

modernize legacy identity infrastructuremodular, cloud-hostedplanned

This effort will modernize legacy identity infrastructure with a modular, cloud-hosted commercial off-the-shelf/software-as-a-service solution operating across IL5 and IL6 environments.

The prototype must address the Federated Identity Provider, Automated Account Provisioning, Master Entitlement Record, and Federation Hub core capabilities.

Response deadline is Nov. 30, 2026, 5:00 p.m. America/Chicago (Monday)

Source: SAM.gov. As of Nov. 7, 2026.

Sources
TGOs tgos.io

DISA is seeking the capability through a prototype Other Transaction opportunity linked to its competitive Commercial Solutions Opening.1–3

The Next Generation Enterprise Identity, Credential, and Access Management (E-ICAM) effort calls for a modular commercial off-the-shelf or software-as-a-service solution. The solution would operate across Impact Level 5 (IL5) and Impact Level 6 (IL6) environments. The prototype must address four core capabilities: Federated Identity Provider, Automated Account Provisioning, Master Entitlement Record and Federation Hub.1

Responses to the Area of Interest are due Nov. 30 at 5 p.m. Central.1

DISA’s Commercial Solutions Opening and any Other Transactions awarded through it are not subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation or its supplements.3

Sources (3)
  1. SAM.gov notice record sam.gov
  2. SAM.gov notice history sam.gov
  3. SAM.gov: DISA Commercial Solutions Opening (HC108425S0001) sam.gov
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Contracts · Space

Viasat wins contract for Space Data Network’s mission operations hub

The award includes a $115 million initial task order to design, field and scale the center, under a contract with a $450 million ceiling.

Space Systems Command (SSC) awarded Viasat a competitive indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Space Data Network Backbone’s Mission Operations Center, the command announced Nov. 5, 2026. The contract carries a $450 million maximum ceiling and a $115 million initial task order to design, field and scale the center.1

Viasat, Inc. will serve as the network and mission system integration partner

Mission Operations Center (MOC) for the Space Data Network Backbone

maximum ceiling$450 millionactual

contract to Viasat, Inc., with a maximum ceiling of $450 million

initial task order$115 millionactual

to design, field, and scale the MOC

Source: Space Systems Command, Nov. 5, 2026

Sources
TGOs tgos.io

Viasat will serve as the network and mission system integration partner as SSC expands its open-architecture ecosystem across multiple space-segment providers. SSC plans to bring mission integration, network operations and data transport management together through the center.1

The effort builds on the multi-vendor acquisition strategy demonstrated in the Space-Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio’s earlier Delivery Order 2 and Delivery Order 3 work. That work involved Amazon LEO for Government, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Rocket Lab and York Space Systems.1

Breaking Defense reported that the center will serve as the network orchestration hub for the backbone, a low Earth orbit constellation being built by SpaceX. The network’s near-term focus will be supporting the Golden Dome missile defense initiative, the outlet reported.2

DefenseScoop reported that earlier this year the Department of War awarded SpaceX a $2.3 billion contract to deliver a fully operational backbone prototype by the end of 2027.3

The center is intended to integrate mission systems across multiple constellations and providers.1 Breaking Defense described network orchestration as autonomously shifting data among satellite constellations and ground stations when congestion or jamming slows transmission.2

Sources (3)
  1. SSC release, Nov. 5, 2026 www.ssc.spaceforce.mil
  2. Breaking Defense breakingdefense.com
  3. DefenseScoop defensescoop.com
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