Analytical Mechanics Associates

What Analytical Mechanics Associates does

Analytical Mechanics Associates (AMA) is a privately held US aerospace engineering and government services firm founded in 1962 and headquartered in Hampton, Virginia. The company provides engineering, science, IT, visualization, analytics, and program-support services primarily to NASA — across Langley, Johnson, Marshall, Stennis, Ames, Armstrong, Goddard, and JPL — under a portfolio of prime contract vehicles including RSES (~$1.5B ceiling), ASSESS, ETSS ($264M ceiling), ESTRAD ($43M), and the Agency-wide eMITS contract. AMA also serves the US Navy, US Air Force, and Missile Defense Agency (via the $151B SHIELD IDIQ), alongside commercial aerospace customers such as SpaceX, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Virgin Galactic, and Virgin Orbit, and a long tail of enterprise and international scientific customers.

The company's underlying technology stack combines proprietary engineering software — MISL3 for missile aerodynamics, MISDL for detailed flight-vehicle loading, and STRLNCH for 6-DOF store-separation simulation — with eight granted US patents covering super-resolution imaging, polyhedral geofences, hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerators, gossamer/spacecraft systems, OSEE surface inspection, and actively stabilized drogue refueling. AMA also operates AMA Studios for multimedia and visualization (including the Emmy-winning NASA X program) and is a founding partner of the Open Data Cube open-source geospatial initiative used by 50+ countries.

AMA makes money primarily through cost-plus and fixed-price federal government contracts with NASA, supplemented by GSA Schedule and OASIS+ procurement vehicles, and secondarily through direct commercial software licensing (quote-based, with export-controlled foreign delivery) plus professional consulting and training services. Revenue mechanics are dominated by long-duration IDIQ and prime-contract tasking rather than volume licensing, with a TTM unclassified prime-contract revenue of approximately $154.8M and nine US offices supporting geographically distributed program execution.

Name

Analytical Mechanics Associates

Legal name

Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc.

Website

https://ama-inc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Analytical Mechanics Associates is a privately held US aerospace engineering firm founded in 1962 that provides engineering, science, IT, and program-support services primarily to NASA and other federal agencies under multi-year prime contracts, supplemented by proprietary aerodynamics software and commercial consulting.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aerospace Engineering and Federal Contracting Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (541330), Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Aircraft & Parts (3720)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial & Process Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) & Avionics Computing Platforms (IMABAFAI), Enterprise Architecture & IT Operating Model (BPAHAEAB), Augmented Analytics & AI-Assisted BI (NLQ/NLG, Insights) (HDAEAMAD)

Keywords

• Aerospace engineering services
• Missile aerodynamics software
• Federal defense contracting
• NASA contract vehicles
• Aerodynamic simulation software

Headquarters

HQ city

Hampton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Federal Government Contracting: AMA generates the majority of its revenue through federal government contracts, primarily with NASA as its sole government client. The company holds multiple prime contracts including RSES (nearly $1.5B), ETSS ($264M), ESTRAD ($43M), and others. Revenue is generated through cost-plus and fixed-price contract types with government agencies.
2. Software Licensing: AMA licenses its proprietary aerodynamic and simulation software tools (MISL3, MISDL, STRLNCH) to commercial customers including aerospace companies. Software is available for Windows and Linux computers subject to license fees and software license agreements. Training courses are offered separately.
3. Consulting Services: AMA provides consultation, training, and analysis services in aerodynamics, computational fluid dynamics, and aerospace engineering through its expert staff of scientists and engineers. Services include both in-person and remote training for AMASS software suite.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Analytical Mechanics Associates (AMA) provides aerospace engineering, science, research, IT, visualization, analytics, and program support services primarily to NASA and the U.S. government through multiple prime contract vehicles, while licensing proprietary aerodynamic simulation software (MISL3, MISDL, STRLNCH) and delivering specialized consulting services to commercial aerospace and enterprise customers. The firm also operates AMA Studios for multimedia production and participates as a founding partner in the Open Data Cube international Earth-observation initiative.

Product overview

Analytical Mechanics Associates (AMA) offers a portfolio of aerospace engineering software products and government contracting services. The core software suite includes MISL3 (missile aerodynamics prediction), MISDL (detailed missile loads analysis), and STRLNCH (6-DOF store separation simulation), which work together to provide comprehensive aerodynamic analysis capabilities from preliminary design through flight simulation. These tools complement computational fluid dynamics codes and wind tunnel tests. AMA also provides specialized consulting services and operates as a prime contractor for multiple NASA contract vehicles including RSES (Langley), ASSESS (Ames), ESTRAD (Ames), ETSS (Armstrong), and eMITS (Agency-wide IT services). The company also operates AMA Studios for multimedia production including the Emmy Award-winning NASA X program and Open Data Cube support for international Earth observation initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AMA Studios: Multimedia division producing television programs including NASA X, visualization, virtual reality, and strategic communication services for NASA and other clients.

Products and services

• MISL3
• MISDL
• STRLNCH
• Consulting Services
• NASA Langley RSES Contract Services
• NASA Ames ASSESS Contract Services
• NASA Ames ESTRAD Contract Services
• NASA Armstrong ETSS Contract Services
• NASA Agency eMITS Contract Services
• AMA Studios / NASA X Multimedia Services
• Open Data Cube (ODC) Support Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduces need for costly wind tunnel tests through accurate aerodynamic simulation
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ROAR Enterprises (Rothe Development/Ares Technical Services Joint Venture)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2023AMA partners with ROAR Enterprises joint venture to provide support to NASA's Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and Office of Communications (OCOMM) under the Enterprise Multimedia and Integrated Technical Services (eMITS) contract. Barry Meredith, Director of AMA's Houston Operations, leads the program.
• Nielsen Engineering & Research (NEAR)coreOthers · 1 February 2016AMA acquired NEAR, a nationally respected engineering firm located in Silicon Valley. NEAR staff including Mike Mendenhall, Dan Lesieutre, and Dr. Daniel Pruzan joined AMA, bringing expertise in aerodynamics and simulation software that became the foundation of AMA's software product line (MISL3, MISDL, STRLNCH).
• Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMA has supported CEOS for over a decade as one of five founding partners. AMA helped create the Open Data Cube (ODC) initiative to provide data architecture adding value to global users and increasing impact of Earth Observation satellite data.
• Open Data Cube (ODC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMA is a founding partner of the Open Data Cube initiative along with NASA, USGS, Geoscience Australia (GA), CSIRO, and UK Catapult. There are over 50 countries developing or considering ODC at national scale.
• Digital Earth AfricaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMA supported Digital Earth Africa, a follow-on to the African Regional Data Cube (ARDC), providing open-source geospatial data management and analysis solutions for environmental intelligence across Africa.
• United States Geological Survey (USGS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMA partners with USGS as part of the Open Data Cube founding partnership for international satellite data management and geospatial analysis.
• Geoscience Australia (GA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMA partners with Geoscience Australia as founding partner of Open Data Cube initiative for global satellite data management and analysis.
• Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMA partners with CSIRO as founding partner of Open Data Cube initiative supporting international earth observation efforts.
• Group on Earth Observations (GEO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMA partners with GEO through the Open Data Cube initiative supporting UN Sustainable Development Goals and international environmental intelligence efforts.
• MORI AssociatesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMA was a partner under MORI Associates' winning team for NASA's $300M COMIT contract at Johnson Space Center for communications, outreach, multimedia and information technology services.
• Syncom Space Service LLCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMA was a partner under Syncom Space Service's winning team for the $1.2B SACOM contract at NASA's Stennis Space Center and Michoud Assembly Facility.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• SAIC: Large federal services prime contractor with deep NASA, MDA, and DoD footprint across engineering, IT, and science services; competes with AMA on RSES-class vehicles and on SHIELD IDIQ task orders.
• Aerojet Rocketdyne (now part of L3Harris): Aerospace propulsion and missile systems prime with deep ties to NASA, MDA, and defense customers; competes for adjacent hypersonic, propulsion, and store-separation engineering work.
• KBR: Government Solutions segment provides aerospace engineering, mission operations, and science services to NASA centers and DoD agencies; directly comparable in scale and contract-vehicle footprint to AMA.
• Leidos: Large federal contractor with NASA and missile defense business; competes for engineering, IT, and science services task orders on overlapping NASA and MDA vehicles.
• Ball Aerospace (part of BAE Systems): Aerospace prime developing instruments, spacecraft, and mission systems for NASA and DoD; competes for higher-tier NASA contracts and overlaps with AMA on engineering services for atmospheric and entry systems.
• Jacobs Solutions: Major aerospace, defense, and civil government services contractor providing engineering, scientific, and technical services to NASA and DoD; competes for similar task orders and serves as a prime on overlapping contract vehicles.

Direct peers

• Colsa Corporation: Mid-sized aerospace and defense engineering services firm supporting NASA, MDA, and DoD with similar size and customer profile; competes head-to-head for NASA and missile defense engineering services work.
• ERC (Engineering Research and Consulting): NASA-focused engineering services contractor supporting multiple centers including Marshall and Stennis; directly comparable mid-tier peer competing for similar research and engineering task orders.
• Science Systems and Applications (SSAI): Mid-tier NASA-focused engineering and science services contractor headquartered near Goddard; directly comparable size and customer concentration with AMA, competing for similar NASA research and engineering services task orders.

Others

• Nielsen Engineering & Research (NEAR): Acquired by AMA in 2016, NEAR's aerodynamics software lineage underpins AMA's MISL3/MISDL/STRLNCH product line; pre-acquisition NEAR would have been a direct peer in missile aerodynamics prediction software.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ceosdotorg
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCVbtBJEb8DcGDxrmBhkcKhA
• Facebookfacebook.com/AnalyticalMechanicsAssociatesInc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/analytical-mechanics-associates-inc.
• Instagraminstagram.com/ama_since1962

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Analytical Mechanics Associates