Niobium (formerly Columbium) Raw Materials

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, through the NASA Shared Services Center, is soliciting bids for Niobium raw materials under a firm-fixed-price contract. The requirement is for round bars conforming to ASTM B392, Type 4 (commercial grade Nb-1Zr, UNS R04261) in an annealed condition. All materials must be of domestic production, and the award will be granted to the responsible offeror with the lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA). The period of performance is scheduled from December 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027, with a strict delivery requirement to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, within twelve weeks of contract award. Contractors must maintain a documented quality management system, such as ISO 9001 or AS9100, and provide comprehensive documentation for each shipment, including a Certified Material Test Report (CMTR) per EN 10204 3.1 and a Certificate of Conformance (CoC). If the contractor is a distributor, a traceability statement documenting the chain of custody from the domestic producing mill is required. Packaging must follow commercial best practices, requiring each bar to be individually wrapped in non-contaminating material and free of burrs. Delivery is FOB Destination, and the government reserves the right to perform source inspections at the contractor's facility before final acceptance at the destination.