NASA plans to competitive bid the management and operations of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, potentially ending Caltech’s 70-year sole-source leadership when the current contract expires in 2028.

The procurement aims to keep JPL’s location and ongoing missions stable during the process, while exploring a wider pool of bidders under the Federally Funded Research and Development Center framework.

The competition is part of a broader effort to improve mission performance, innovation, and cost efficiency across NASA and federal programs.

NASA’s broader reorganization aims to boost mission delivery and reduce bureaucracy, with assurances that there will be no layoffs or program cancellations as part of the transition.

JPL serves as NASA’s lead center for robotic exploration and has operated as an FFRDC under Caltech since its founding in 1936.

Possible bidders include other universities with aerospace strength and large aerospace contractors, reflecting a formal market competition for JPL’s management.

Agency leadership stresses faster execution, continued top-tier science and engineering, and responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources in the bid process.

NASA intends to maintain continuity for active and future missions and keep JPL’s physical campus unchanged throughout the procurement.

The JPL competition could attract bids from various institutions due to JPL’s status as an FFRDC and its close ties to Caltech.

As part of structural changes, NASA merged two mission directorates to form the Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate and combined two others into the Research and Technology Mission Directorate, guiding the center-wide realignment.

The current JPL contract with Caltech began in 2018 and runs through 2028, with a potential maximum value up to $30 billion if options are exercised.

Caltech has managed JPL since its inception, with NASA historically awarding sole-source contracts to the university since JPL’s transfer from the Army in 1958.