The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) holds a total obligation of $1,470,526,588 under contract 80NM0018F0850 with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the sponsoring agreement that establishes the relationship under which Caltech operates the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), according to federal spending records updated June 23, 2026.

JPL is a NASA-sponsored FFRDC located in Pasadena, California. Under this agreement, Caltech — a private nonprofit educational institution — manages JPL under task orders issued by the NASA Management Office (NMO) Contracting Officers. JPL's primary mission is to support NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) across four broad scientific areas: Earth science, planetary science, heliophysics, and astrophysics.

A key JPL responsibility identified in the contract is the operation, research, technology insertion, and management of NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) — the global network of antennas that provides telecommunications, tracking, and data services for NASA's interplanetary spacecraft. The DSN is a critical piece of U.S. space exploration infrastructure, supporting missions to Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and beyond.

The contract (80NM0018F0850) has a performance start date of October 1, 2018 and a current end date of September 30, 2028. The award was last modified on June 23, 2026.

For GovCon practitioners, FFRDC sponsoring agreements represent a distinct contracting structure governed by FAR 35.017. FFRDCs are not subject to normal competitive acquisition rules; however, the large research and mission portfolios they manage generate substantial subcontracting volume across aerospace, systems engineering, and scientific instrument manufacturing.

Source: USASpending.gov — Award 80NM0018F0850