Space Launch Safety in Focus: NASA Seeks Drone Detection at Kennedy Space Centre

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is working to roll out a drone detection and analysis system to help detect intruding aircraft over the John F. Kennedy Space Centre (KSC), sources say.

According to HigherGov's 'sources sought' notice posted by NASA on 23 December 2025 and shared by Aviation Week, NASA is inviting firms for industry input for Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) detection and analysis from at least 40 nautical miles with real-time alerts for detection, tracking, and providing information, which include type, location, speed, direction, etc.

'The UAS detection and analysis data generated in performance of this requirement will be utilized to make rapid and critical decisions to protect NASA personnel, the public, launch vehicles, flight hardware, critical high value assets, and security interests, and is required to be fully mission capable at the start of performance,' the sources sought notice, which is up for industry review, stated.

Performance under this contract will involve access to and/or generation of classified information, work in a security area, or both, up to the level of Secret.

The sources sought notice further stated, 'NASA KSC is seeking capability statements from all interested parties, including all socioeconomic categories of Small Businesses and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition and/or Small Business and HBCU/MSI subcontracting goals for this requirement.'

It continued, 'The Government reserves the right to consider a Small, 8(a), Women-owned (WOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran (SD-VOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Women-owned Small Business (EDWOSB) or HUBZone business set-aside based on responses received.'

24/7 Monitoring

With the overall goal of providing ongoing threat monitoring across KSC, the inclusion of at least two primary and two secondary sensors, as well as a user-accessible dashboard is a must. This is to prioritise real-time threat tracking and automated alerts.

The information must also be 'fully compatible with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, US Air Force, and US Space Force counter UAS systems, procedures, and protocols.'

Bid Banana estimates the project budget to be somewhere between $5,000 - $5,000,000, taking into consideration the scope of the initiative. Bid Banana's procurement document also states that systems and ongoing maintenance will have to be provided by the winning firm to assess UAS threats as they come.

NASA states that the UAS detection and analysis acquisition team is eyeing one-on-one meetings with industry participants starting 2 March 2026 where they can have the opportunity to detail their submitted outlined capabilities, giving the government a clearer judgment of their expertise.

All firms are advised to submit their responses not later than 9 February 2026.

NASA's initiative to strengthen airspace security at the KSC in accordance with the FBI, US Air Force, and US Space Force underscores the agency's commitment to protecting not just NASA personnel and their critical assets, but also the public's welfare from unauthorised drone activity, which could potentially create safety and operational hazards at the KSC.

By developing an advanced UAS detection system, NASA aims to address these hazards — a critical move that could ensure the safety of launch operations at KSC.