Spending Trends

NASA Contract Spending Trends

NASA Contract Spending Trends shows how federal contract spending changes across the visible time series in FPDS-derived procurement data.

The latest visible point is 2025 at 17.29.

Federal Contract Spending Spending Trends Spending Series Series

Updated 03/20/2026

Latest Period
2025
17.29
Visible Change
17.29
Peak Period
1996
22.63
Trend Direction
Up
Unknown

Analysis

The latest visible point is 2025 at 17.29.

Why it matters: Use this page to evaluate how federal contract spending levels shift over time and identify inflection points.

Methodology: The query returns a structured time series, detects a period column and a primary numeric metric, and computes visible-series statistics such as latest value, peak, low, and overall change.

Commentary

NASA Contract Spending Trends tracks federal contract spending over time in FPDS-derived data.

Key takeaway: The latest visible point is 2025 at 17.29.

Analyst note: This page is best used for directional review, turning points, and quick comparison against related time windows or scopes.

Trend Chart

This chart plots Federal Contract Spending over the visible time series returned by the query.

Query Used

-- NASA Contract Spending Trends
SELECT
    fiscal_year,
    round(sum(obligated_amount) / 1000000000, 2) AS spending_billion_usd,
    count() AS award_count,
    round(sum(obligated_amount) / count(), 0) AS avg_award_size
FROM
(
    SELECT
        if(
            toUInt8(substring(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate, 6, 2)) >= 10,
            toUInt16(substring(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate, 1, 4)) + 1,
            toUInt16(substring(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate, 1, 4))
        ) AS fiscal_year,
        content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount AS obligated_amount
    FROM fpds.data
    WHERE
        contract_type = 1
        AND content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate != ''
        AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentName = 'NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION'
)
WHERE fiscal_year < toYear(today())
GROUP BY fiscal_year
ORDER BY fiscal_year ASC

Trend Table

This table shows the structured time series returned by the query.

Fiscal Year Spending Billion Usd Award Count Avg Award Size
1977 0.00 2 3292810
1979 0.84 6612 127660
1980 4.42 13720 322397
1981 2.53 12279 206820
1982 2.83 12362 229219
1983 3.50 12078 289944
1984 2.89 10125 285433
1985 6.61 9848 671548
1986 4.94 8566 577025
1987 7.23 5250 1377429
1988 9.23 9785 943889
1989 13.55 8764 1546135
1990 10.68 10395 1027817
1991 13.22 11314 1168989
1992 10.09 11126 907444
1993 8.73 10833 806431
1994 21.41 11190 1914036
1995 8.92 10912 817821
1996 22.63 11500 1968691
1997 5.85 10962 534246
1998 8.73 10329 845334
1999 7.16 10786 664669
2000 5.57 11773 473640
2001 6.87 12300 558918
2002 6.35 13170 482222
2003 12.68 14295 887330
2004 11.97 26411 453289
2005 14.50 35813 404904
2006 14.14 36019 392664
2007 13.95 34528 404282
2008 16.00 42253 378838
2009 16.11 41105 392040
2010 16.54 44761 369648
2011 15.61 49641 314463
2012 14.78 42554 347528
2013 13.90 40023 347451
2014 13.41 36541 367153
2015 13.52 37447 361044
2016 14.18 36769 385882
2017 14.49 36239 399915
2018 15.62 36870 423651
2019 15.40 32718 470867
2020 15.87 32334 491030
2021 16.22 33007 491575
2022 16.54 34345 481754
2023 17.41 31022 561343
2024 16.31 29887 545839
2025 17.29 31962 541153

How This Trend Is Built

Measure how a selected procurement metric changes across time.

Query structure

  • The query selects a time dimension used as the x-axis for the trend.
  • It calculates or returns a numeric metric for each visible period.
  • The result is interpreted as a chronological series for trend analysis.
  • The metric focuses on obligated dollars or a directly related spending aggregate.

Included fields

  • fiscal_year — Defines the chronological unit used for the trend series.
  • spending_billion_usd — Defines the main value plotted and analyzed over time.
  • award_count — Provides additional numeric context that can support interpretation.
  • avg_award_size — Provides additional numeric context that can support interpretation.

How to use this trend

  • trend direction analysis
  • time-series review
  • federal procurement timing analysis
  • spending trajectory review
  • budget pattern review

Computed Metrics

Series Points
48
First Visible Point
1977
Mean
11.28
Median
13.32
Max
22.63
1996
Min
0.00
1977
Volatility
5.41
5.41
Rows Returned
48

Series Extremes

Largest Increase
13.71
1995 → 1996 · 153.70%
Largest Decrease
-16.78
1996 → 1997 · -74.15%

Related Pages

Method Notes

  • Trend interpretation is based on the returned query result set ordered by the detected period column.
  • Change metrics compare the first visible point and the latest visible point in the series.
  • Volatility is based on the standard deviation of the visible numeric series.

Use FPDS Query for deeper trend analysis

Go beyond the published time series with custom SQL, broader filters, saved queries, and deeper procurement analysis across agencies, vendors, industries, states, contract structures, and competitive segments.

Continue from this trend page into full FPDS Query workflows with deeper filtering, custom SQL, saved queries, and broader market comparison.