Sarah Hammond

Sarah Hammond serves as a Contract Specialist within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Rocket Propulsion Division (FA9453), where she plays a pivotal role in executing complex research and development acquisitions to advance next-generation space and aerospace technologies. She manages the full lifecycle of contracts supporting foundational R&D in high-performance instrumentation, resilient computing architectures, and autonomous space systems. Her work directly enables the Division’s mission to accelerate innovation in space domain awareness, satellite communications, and next-generation propulsion systems. Hammond specializes in competitive and sole-source procurements under FAR Part 35 and Other Transaction Authority (OTA) mechanisms, ensuring alignment with national security imperatives and rapid prototyping timelines. Her contractor relationships are primarily with prime contractors and research institutions possessing deep expertise in aerospace engineering, systems integration, and advanced materials science. She collaborates closely with defense technology firms, university-affiliated research centers, and specialized engineering service providers capable of delivering cutting-edge solutions under stringent technical and security requirements. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, her procurement patterns reflect a preference for vendors with proven capabilities in hypersonics, space-based sensors, and real-time data processing architectures. Hammond’s contracting activity is exclusively non-set-aside, with 100% of her acquisitions conducted under full and open competition. This reflects the highly specialized, mission-critical nature of the technologies being procured and the limited pool of qualified performers capable of meeting the Division’s technical standards. While small business participation is not formally prioritized through socioeconomic set-asides, she actively encourages qualified small businesses to compete through open solicitations and mentor-protégé opportunities. Her primary procurement focus is under NAICS 541712—Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences—where she acquires advanced engineering services, computational modeling, prototype development, and test instrumentation. Her domain expertise spans rocket propulsion systems, space-qualified electronics, and autonomous guidance algorithms, making her a key liaison between technical stakeholders and acquisition professionals in the national security space sector.