As the ELVIS 3 contract comes to an end on September 30, 2026, we’ve been in full reflection and nostalgic mode and we invite you along on the full journey of our story with NASA’s Launch Services Program as it begins years before ELVIS. 

We will begin the journey in the ‘90s.  For the missions launching on Delta II or Pegasus launch vehicles, we interacted with folks from Goddard Space Flight Center Code 470, which was the Orbital Launch Services (OLS) branch.  OLS managed the procurement of these launch vehicles as well as provided technical insight/oversight of the mission-specific design, analyses, integration, test, and launch.  Some of the OLS team members included future a.i. solutions employees Mark Roberts (former EVP), Marisa Achee (CBDO), and Ted Grems.  We then supported the SOHO mission which was launched on an Atlas.  The launch service function for Atlas missions was managed by a group at NASA Lewis in Cleveland, Ohio.  Now you have the map: the Altas group in Ohio, OLS in Maryland, and most launches occurring in Florida and some in California.  Change was coming. 

On October 1, 1998, the Expendable Launch Vehicle (ELV) Program Office was established at Kennedy Space Center and consolidated full responsibility for the acquisition, contract management, and budget authority of NASA ELV services for NASA’s unmanned missions. Initially, this Office was staffed with folks who transitioned from Cleveland and Maryland and was supplemented with engineers already at KSC. Contractor support came from an existing contract with Boeing called the Payload Ground Operations Contract (PGOC).  Marisa transitioned to Boeing and became a manager on PGOC.  Mark Roberts joined a.i. solutions as Employee #5 Soon after, a.i. solutions became a sub-contractor on PGOC to capture Mark’s subject matter expertise on Pegasus.  Our role expanded and we began to interact with the ELV group as we managed the development of various web-based tools at that time.  One task was the Launch Vehicle Performance Website that provides performance data and tools for contracted vehicles, which is still in use today.

At some point, the need to have independent verification and validation (IV&V) to reduce risk to flight vehicles became a reality.  And so, the Expendable Launch Vehicle Integrated Support (ELVIS) contract was born.  It was established as a small business set aside contract and a.i. solutions joined a team with Analex (prime), Swales, and SAIC. We won and began our support in July 2002.  During ELVIS, the overall responsibility of the group grew as we supported other government agencies (NOAA, USAF) and other NASA programs that needed our analytical skills and launch vehicle expertise. That growth led NASA HQ to rebrand the team as the Launch Services Program (LSP), responsible for overseeing commercial launch vehicle performance analysis, IV&V and technical reviews, payload integration, mission management, and launch site processing activities.

ELVIS ran through September 2011 and our ELVIS 2 team changed a bit as Analex was no longer a small business.  So a.i. solutions became prime with Analex as our sub (now QinetiQ). Over the course of ELVIS 2, we continued to support NASA flagship missions launching on our contracted ELVs.  We also stayed very tied-in as the landscape began changing with new players such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, as well as the growth of the small payload/CubeSat market and subsequent new entrant vehicles to serve that market such as Rocket Lab, Virgin Space, Astra, etc.  Establishing those new relationships early and participating in design reviews was valuable as that laid a solid foundation as we continue to work with some of those same providers today.

ELVIS 2 ran through March 2017, when we then continued support to LSP under ELVIS 3.  The ELVIS 3 RFP set significant small business goals, which led us to comprise a diverse team with QinetiQ, Zin Technologies, Red Canyon, Aetos, and Saalex.  During ELVIS 3, we continued to face change as we flew out Delta II, Pegasus, and Atlas V, and transitioned to new vehicles launching at a continually increasing launch cadence. To maintain our insight on these vehicles, we did some level of postflight review on ALL launches, not just LSP missions.  Likewise, our Communications & Telemetry (C&T) team continually supported readiness and launch activities at KSC/CCSFS and Vandenberg SFB. Since 2017, we have successfully ensured operational readiness of C&T systems for 30 NASA LSP, 18 NASA CCP, 2 NASA SLS (Artemis), 57 DoD/NRO/USSF, and 584 commercial missions (901 total launch attempts).

We have accomplished much along the way, and NASA has recognized this by awarding a.i. solutions the Agency Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year for 2014, Agency Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year for 2018 and 2021, and KSC Large Business Prime Contractor for 2024.  And we now conclude our support with a proud record of 10 consecutive 100% award fee scores.  So, as we close out the end of the ELVIS 3 contract, the end of an era which began “back in the 1900s”, we wish all the best to NASA LSP and our former colleagues.  And we know we’ve done all we can to set them up for success with tools, processes, innovations, decades of knowledge, and most importantly, top-notch personnel.

ELVIS has left the building.