By Outrider Editorial Team · Updated August 20, 2026
PSC AR22 comes from the pre-2020 R&D code structure and is not in the current PSC Manual. Its name preserves a stage vocabulary the manual no longer uses: exploratory development, a category the October 2020 restructure replaced with the five-stage scheme of basic research, applied research, experimental development, R&D administrative expenses, and R&D facilities and major equipment. The current manual lists only AR11 through AR15 under Space R&D Services. AR22 nonetheless recorded $1.62 billion in FY2025.
Concentrated and static
Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences R&D (541715) took $1.58 billion, about 98 percent. The remainder is trivial: 541710 at $24 million, 541712 at $6 million, 541714 at $3 million, and 336413 at $0. Note that 541710 is itself a NAICS code retired in the 2012 revision, so this code contains awards classified under two superseded systems at once.
The two-code system, briefly
Every contract action carries a PSC set by the buying office and a NAICS code carried over from the vendor's registration; both systems get revised while long awards stay open.
Treat AR22 as historical. Space applied research solicited today should carry AR12, and a saved search keyed on AR22 will surface incumbents rather than opportunities.
NAICS crosswalk
Where FY2025 AR22 dollars landed, by the winning vendor's registered NAICS code.
- 541710Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences$24.3M
- 541712Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)$5.6M
FY2025 federal contract obligations, USAspending.gov
Frequently Asked
PSC AR22 questions, answered.
What does PSC AR22 cover?
Space science and applications research at the legacy applied research and exploratory development stage. The code predates the October 2020 R&D restructure and does not appear in the current manual.
What NAICS codes win AR22 work?
Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences R&D (541715) accounts for $1.58 billion of $1.62 billion in FY2025, about 98 percent, with the retired NAICS 541710 adding another $24 million.
What replaced AR22?
AR12, applied research under the space flight, research and supporting activities subfunction, is the current equivalent. The manual now lists only AR11 through AR15 for space R&D.
What was exploratory development?
A stage label from the older R&D structure that sat between applied research and engineering development. The 2020 restructure replaced the whole vocabulary with a five-stage model aligned to federal R&D budget reporting.
Watch AR22 opportunities
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