BLUF: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope science operations contract with the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) now totals $2,533,788,480 in obligated funding, following an August 24, 2026 modification that extended the period of performance through October 31, 2026.

AURA has held the contract since it was originally signed on September 15, 1987, competed under solicitation RFP5-18349 with five offers received under full and open competition. AURA operates the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, which manages Hubble's science program, ground systems, and the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes. The award is administered by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Why it matters: GovCon contractors tracking legacy science and space-operations support contracts have a fresh data point on how long-running, sole-source-extended vehicles keep growing in obligated value decades after original award. The contract's cost-plus-incentive-fee structure and nearly 40-year duration show how mission-critical science support work at NASA centers rarely returns to full and open competition once an operator is entrenched — AURA's extensions in 2016 (to $2.03 billion) and 2021 (to roughly $2.4 billion) were both awarded sole-source. The new period-of-performance end date, October 31, 2026, is a milestone contractors and the space science community should watch for signs of a recompete or a further extension.

By the numbers:

• Total obligation: $2,533,788,480
• Base and all options value: $2,598,124,354
• Period of performance: September 15, 1987 – October 31, 2026
• Latest modification: August 24, 2026
• Awarding office: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
• Contract type: Cost Plus Incentive Fee
• NAICS: 333314 (Optical Instrument and Lens Manufacturing)

NASA has extended the AURA contract multiple times on the public record: a 2016 extension added about $196.3 million, bringing the total to $2.03 billion through June 2021, and a November 2021 extension added $215 million, bringing the total to roughly $2.4 billion through June 2026. The current USAspending.gov record shows the period of performance now runs through October 31, 2026, with total obligations at $2.53 billion — indicating funding and schedule have moved further since the last publicly announced NASA extension.

Source: USAspending.gov