BAA STEC Amendment 1 2026.pdf

Space Development Agency

Broad Agency Announcement Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture

Systems, Technologies, and Emerging Capabilities

# FA240126S0001

March 4, 2026

FA240126S0001

I. Table of Contents I. Table of Contents

II. OVERVIEW INFORMATION

III. FULL TEXT OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT

A. Funding Opportunity Description B. Overview

C. SDA Focus Areas

1. Resilient Beyond Line-of-Sight Tactical Communications (RF, Optical)

2. Advanced Target Custody, Warning, Tracking and Defeat

3. Advanced/Alternate Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT)

4. Global Battle Management Dynamic Operations: Coordinated autonomous control of space vehicles and/or payloads to achieve a desired mission effect

IV. Award Information A. General Award Information

V. Eligibility Information A. Eligible Applicants

1. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), and Government Entities

2. Government Entities

3. Authority and Eligibility

4. Non-U.S. Organizations and/or Individuals

5. Security

B. Organizational Conflicts of Interest

1. FAR 9.5 Requirements

2. Agency Supplemental OCI Policy

C. Cost Sharing/Matching VI. Application and Submission Information

A. Application Assistance B. Content and Form of Submission

1. Executive Summary (ES) Format

2. Proposal Abstract (PA) Format

3. Full Proposal (FP) Format

4. Volume 1, Technical and Management Proposal

5. Official transmittal letter {1}

6. Table of Contents {no page limit}

7. Summary of Proposal {NTE 4 pages}

8. Detailed Proposal Information {NTE 11, or NTE 21 if proposal total value exceeds $1 million}

C. Volume II, Cost Proposal

1. Cover sheet to include:

2. Detailed Cost Proposal

3. Supporting Cost and Pricing Data:

4. Subawardee Proposals

5. Additional Proposal Information

D. Submission Instructions

1. Unclassified Submission Instructions

2. Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret Information

3. Confidential and Secret

4. Top Secret Information

5. Special Access Program (SAP) Information

6. Submission Instructions for both Classified and Unclassified Submissions

7. Funding Restrictions

8. Other Submission Requirements

VII. Application Review Information A. Evaluation Criteria

1. Overall Operational and Technical Merit

2. Potential Contribution and Relevance to the SDA Mission

3. Cost Realism

4. Realism of Proposed Schedule

5. Proposer’s Capabilities and/or Related Experience

B. Review of Submissions

1. Review Process

2. Handling of Source Selection Information

3. Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information (FAPIIS)

VIII. Award Administration Information A. Selection Notices and Notifications B. Executive Summaries C. Proposal Abstracts D. Full Proposals E. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

1. Meeting and Travel Requirements

2. FAR and DFARS Clauses

3. Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) on Non-DoD Information Systems

4. Representations and Certifications

F. Reporting G. Electronic Systems

1. Wide Area Work Flow (WAWF) IX. Agency Contacts X. Other Information

This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 and 2 CFR § 200.203. Any resultant award negotiations will follow all pertinent law and regulation, and any negotiations and/or awards for procurement contracts will use procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing, as specified in the BAA.

II. OVERVIEW INFORMATION

• Federal Agency Name – Space Development Agency

• Funding Opportunity Title – Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) Systems, Technologies, and Emerging Capabilities (STEC)

• Announcement Type – Initial Announcement

• Funding Opportunity Number – FA240126S0001 Dates: All Times are Eastern Standard Time Zone (ET) o Posting Date: 4 March 2026 o Proposal Due Date and Time: 3 March 2027, 12:00 AM Eastern

• Concise description of the funding opportunity – The Space Development Agency (SDA) is soliciting executive summaries, invited proposal abstracts and proposals for novel architecture concepts, systems, technologies, and capabilities that enable leap-ahead improvements for future PWSA tranches, capability layers, or enable new capability layers to address other emerging or evolving warfighter needs.

• Anticipated individual awards – Multiple awards are anticipated.

• Types of instruments that may be awarded – Procurement (FAR-based) contract or other transaction agreement (OTA).

• Cost Sharing Requirements – In accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 4022, cost sharing may be required for OT for Prototype or OT for Research Agreements.

• NAICS Code – 541715 - Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology).

• Questions and Answers (Q&As) – All administrative, technical and award questions should be emailed to the Agency Point of Contact (POC) stated below. All questions must be written in English.

• Agency POC: Technical and administrative point of contact for this effort can be reached via:

ussf.pentagon.sda.mbx.fa-240126s-001@mail.mil Space Development Agency ATTN:

FA240126S0001, 1670 Air Force Pentagon Washington, DC 20330

III. FULL TEXT OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT

A. Funding Opportunity Description

This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016. Any resultant award negotiations will follow all pertinent law and regulation, and any negotiations and/or awards for procurement contracts will use mailto:ussf.pentagon.sda.mbx.fa-240126s-001@mail.mil

This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 and 2 CFR § 200.203. Any resultant award negotiations will follow all pertinent law and regulation, and any negotiations and/or awards for procurement contracts will use procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing, as specified in the BAA.

procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing, as specified in the BAA. The following information is for those wishing to respond to the BAA.

B. Overview The National Defense Strategy (NDS) acknowledges that space is vital to the U.S. way of life, our national security, and modern warfare. In an era of renewed great power competition, maintaining our advantage in space is critical to winning any such long-term strategic competitions. Potential adversaries seek to undermine this goal by employing strategies that exploit real or perceived vulnerabilities in our current and planned National Security Space architecture. In addition, potential adversaries are developing and demonstrating multi-domain threats to national security much faster than we can deploy responsive space-based capabilities. The Acting Secretary of Defense established as a separate Defense Agency pursuant to Title 10, U.S.C. sections 112, 191, and 192, on 12 March 2019 in response to these challenges. SDA transferred to the United States Space Force (USSF) as a Direct Reporting Unit (DRU) on 1 October 2022 to ensure the PWSA was fully integrated into the complete National Security Space enterprise to the benefit of the joint warfighter.

SDA is responsible for defining and monitoring the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) future threat-driven space architecture and accelerating the development and fielding of new military space capabilities necessary to ensure U.S. technological and military advantage in space for national defense. To achieve this mission, SDA is responsible for unifying and integrating next-generation space capabilities to deliver the PWSA, a resilient military sensing, custody and data transport capability via a proliferated space architecture in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). SDA will not necessarily develop and field all PWSA capabilities but rather orchestrate those efforts across DoD and fill in gaps in capabilities while providing the integrated architecture.

The PWSA is comprised of the following layers, addressing the critical priorities for space identified within the DoD Space Vision:

Cornerstone Missions

• Tactical Comms - providing assured, resilient, low-latency military data and communications connectivity worldwide to the full range of warfighter platforms;

• Navigation - establishing a Global Positioning System (GPS)-independent navigation capability, including a LEO-based position, navigation, and timing (PNT) service provided to GPS-denied environments;

• Tracking - providing global indications, warning, tracking, targeting and eventual defeat of advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems;

• Custody - providing 24x7x365, all-weather custody of time-sensitive targets (e.g., to support beyond line-of-sight targeting for advanced missiles, airborne targets or other time sensitive/time critical targets);

Key Enablers

• Battle Management - providing architecture tasking, mission command and control, and data dissemination to support time-sensitive kill chain closure at campaign scales;

• Ground and Launch - enabling ground and launch segments to support a responsive, This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 and 2 CFR § 200.203. Any resultant award negotiations will follow all pertinent law and regulation, and any negotiations and/or awards for procurement contracts will use procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing, as specified in the BAA.

resilient pLEO space architecture.

SDA’s mission begins and ends with the warfighter. SDA recognizes that “good enough” capabilities in the hands of warfighter sooner may be better than delivering the perfect solution too late. SDA began delivering capabilities to our joint warfighting forces in two-year tranches, beginning in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. While SDA is issuing separate solicitations for the capability layers outlined above, seeking systems and technologies that can be developed and fielded on PWSA tranche timelines to address timely warfighter needs, SDA also recognizes the need to establish, maintain and harvest an “intellectual pipeline” to access ideas from across the community to inform the future capabilities of the architecture.

While this is SDA’s intent, our ability and appetite for technology development are limited and our focus is and will remain at the architecture level to better serve the warfighter and ensure mission accomplishment.

Through this BAA, SDA specifically seeks emerging PWSA concepts, systems, technologies, and capabilities that:

• Enable capability improvements for future tranches of currently planned proliferated architecture capability layers

• Enable new capability layers to address other emerging or evolving warfighter needs SDA is soliciting Executive Summaries, invited White Papers or proposal Abstracts, and invited

Proposals in the focus areas described below. Although not required, SDA strongly encourages submitting an Executive Summary first to ensure interest and potential funding availability. Submission instructions can be found in Section V. Evaluation criteria for this solicitation can be found in Section VI.A. SDA anticipates making multiple awards from this solicitation, leading to detailed technical studies, architecture or system-level technical designs, and/or proofs-of-concept or risk reduction demonstrations. Throughout the period of performance for this BAA, SDA may issue Special Notices for specific topics to be addressed. In those instances, clear proposal submission instructions will be provided.

C. SDA Focus Areas SDA is seeking architecture studies, concepts of operations (CONOPS), modeling and simulation, analyses, system designs, key technologies, and/or risk reduction prototypes that are responsive to the following capability vectors.

1. Resilient Beyond Line-of-Sight Tactical Communications (RF, Optical) This thrust is primarily aligned with the PWSA Transport Layer. This focus area features capabilities enabling global access to low-latency communications and space data transport for Joint warfighters and warfighting systems, including but not limited to:

• Advanced Space-to-Terrestrial Optical Communications: SDA is interested in advanced optical terminal designs, development, testing and interoperability enabling space-to-air (S2A), space-to-ground (S2G) and space-to-maritime (S2M). SDA is particularly interested in emerging capabilities which would significantly lower complexity and manufacturing requirements while enhancing on-orbit performance within the PWSA and with emerging commercial, national security and/or Allied data transport to remote sensing constellations

• Dual-Use Commercial Architectures (e.g., Secure 5G, embedded waveforms): Solutions that adapt commercial communication architectures to substantially improve tactical edge capabilities

This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 and 2 CFR § 200.203. Any resultant award negotiations will follow all pertinent law and regulation, and any negotiations and/or awards for procurement contracts will use procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing, as specified in the BAA.

in contested environments. SDA is particularly interested in the acceleration of dual-use commercial 5G services over UHF to address future DoD Narrowband requirements, ensure interoperability with legacy handset radios, and inform future acquisition strategies for commercial services.

• Low SWAP-C Communications Payload Components: This includes free-space optical communication terminals (OCTs) capable of high-bandwidth (>1 Gbps) data rates at low, medium, and geostationary relevant ranges that are compatible with the SDA OCT Open Standard. To support these data rates, SDA also seeks advanced modem, router, and switch designs capable of high-throughput (>50 Gbps) modulation/demodulation and packet forwarding. For all components, designs and enabling technologies that increase overall manufacturability while maintaining and enhancing technical performance are of particular interest.

• Multi-beam / multi-user tactical data link connectivity: low SWaP-C antenna technologies enabling tactical data link connectivity with multiple user terminals and including but not limited to active electronically scanned arrays (AESA)

• Advanced tactical data links and/or waveforms (Novel communications modalities):

concepts and implementations enabling new and emerging tactical data link message translation and rebroadcast via alternate communication networks and/or advanced waveforms enabling resilient tactical communications on the modern battlefield; concepts and implementations involving novel communications phenomenologies or novel applications of mature communications techniques applicable to and valuable in Joint All- Domain Operations

2. Advanced Target Custody, Warning, Tracking, and Defeat Aligned primarily with the PWSA Tracking and Custody Layers, this focus area seeks novel solutions to enable operationally relevant detection, tracking, targeting, and kill/battle damage assessment of adversary systems spanning multiple domains, with an emphasis on advanced missile threats and time-critical land and maritime targets. In addition, this topic spans the range of possible complementary missions with space-based sensors, including space-based environmental monitoring (SBEM), space domain awareness (SpDA for the purpose of this BAA), and battle damage assessment (BDA). While SpDA, SBEM and BDA are not primary PWSA missions at this time, novel solutions that offer enhanced warfighting capability and contribute to any of these mission areas would be considered. In addition, exceptionally low SWaP-C solutions that enable these missions and are of minimal competition for PWSA space vehicle resources might be considered favorably as add-on capabilities. Specific areas of investigation here are, including but not limited to:

• Advanced Infrared (IR) Missile Warning, Missile Tracking (MW/MT) and Missile Defense (MD) fire control: Seeking technology solutions that advance Missile Warning, Tracking, and Missile Defense fire control capabilities. Proposals should encompass advanced IR sensor technologies (including optics, focal plane arrays, and resiliency technologies), mission data processing techniques for LEO operation, and advanced architecture approaches that utilize multi-layer, multi-node cueing for enhanced data fusion and operational autonomy. A critical element of these solutions is the integration of automatic target recognition (ATR) algorithms that use trusted artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to classify objects in sensor data feeds. To be considered, proposed

This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 and 2 CFR § 200.203. Any resultant award negotiations will follow all pertinent law and regulation, and any negotiations and/or awards for procurement contracts will use procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing, as specified in the BAA.

ATR capabilities must be trained and demonstrated using specific sources of real (not simulated) data to ensure they can be immediately applied to address current military gaps at the tactical edge.

• Novel Sensing for Expanded Mission Capabilities: Innovative sensor system designs, novel remote sensing phenomenologies, or dual-use applications of existing sensor payloads that enable or enhance a range of critical missions. These missions include, but are not limited to, Missile Defense, Target Discrimination, Air Moving Target Indicator (AMTI), Space Domain Awareness (SpDA), Battle Damage Assessment (BDA), and the full suite of Space-Based Environmental Monitoring (SBEM) missions (e.g., space weather, theater weather imagery, cloud characterization, ocean surface vector winds).

• Advanced Data Fusion at the Edge: Algorithms, AI/ML-enabled concepts, and systems that fuse multi-modal sensor data from systems spanning multiple domains to develop and maintain targeting solutions against time-sensitive targets; space-based fusion implementations are of particular interest to include specific sources of real (not simulated) training/demonstration data enabling computations to be performed at the tactical edge or in-theater.

• Sensor and Satellite Resilience Technologies: Advanced technologies to enhance the resilience and survivability of PWSA space vehicles and payloads in contested LEO environments. Solutions should provide robust protection against adversary threats and environmental hazards. This includes countermeasures for directed energy weapons (e.g., hardened optics, rapid sensor recovery), advanced anti-jam and anti-spoofing electronic protection for all data links, and onboard systems that enable autonomous threat detection and response. Technologies that provide enhanced radiation tolerance at a low SWaP-C are also of significant interest.

3. Advanced/Alternate Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT)

This thrust is primarily aligned with the PWSA Navigation Layer, a capability enabled by the optically interconnected Transport layer. This focus area features capabilities enabling global operations in GPS-denied or degraded environments, including but not limited to:

• Resilient GPS-agnostic space networking: Systems and algorithms enabling highly precise and accurate range measurements with free-space optical communications incorporating precise nanosecond time transfer as an integral component of proposed systems

• GPS-agnostic Alt-PNT solutions: Capabilities required to enhance Speed, Time, And Ranging (STAR) and Constellation, Speed, Time, and Ranging (COSTAR) navigation and timing performance in GPS-denied environments. Technology solutions may include but not limited to: communication systems (e.g., PNT solutions delivered either via a dedicated signal or as an embedded function over existing communication links), mass-producible low SWaP-C atomic clocks, space vehicle (SV) guidance navigation and control systems and optical timing/ranging measurement systems that when fused form an onboard orbit and clock determination (OCDA) application for space-based autonomous navigation.

• GPS Situational Awareness (SA): Space-based GNSS SA systems that act as monitors for GNSS signal-in-space integrity, and can measure potential terrestrial interference

This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 and 2 CFR § 200.203. Any resultant award negotiations will follow all pertinent law and regulation, and any negotiations and/or awards for procurement contracts will use procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing, as specified in the BAA.

4. Global Battle Management This thrust is aligned primarily with the PWSA Battle Management and Ground & Launch Layers and includes algorithms, frameworks, and hardware supporting advanced processing, command and control, user interface/interaction/experience, and seamless interoperability of architecture elements, including but not limited to:

• Network Defense: Architectures, protocols, intrusion detection, mitigation and response, and tools for layered cyber defense of the ground and space segment, with emphasis on adaptable, lightweight systems for malware and network intrusion detection, authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA); and security incident and event management

• Secure Enclave Operations (e.g., Zero Trust, Seamless multi-level security (MLS)) operations: Robust MLS solutions that protect PWSA operations across heterogeneous platforms, multiple warfighting domains, and at multiple levels of security

• Dynamic tasking and networking (Autonomous Operations, Network Orchestration):

Dynamic, status-aware, and optionally AI-enabled algorithms and systems to provide for the automation of resource allocation, scheduling, and network orchestration. Solutions must enable the real-time prioritization of software processes, dynamic tasking of missile tracking and surveillance resources, intelligent power cycling of payloads, and the adjustment of data routing to meet evolving mission demands.

• Distributed command and control in contested environments: Mission-informed distributed implementations of command-and-control capabilities supporting the development of operational plans and courses of action, selection of courses of action, and real-time adjustments to employment strategies

• Radiation-hardened and radiation-tolerant advanced processors: High- performance, low SWaP-C on-orbit processing capabilities such as rad-hard or rad-tolerant GPUs, CPUs, FPGAs or other components, hardware/software/firmware architectures, storage, and algorithms, including implementations supporting distributed processing

• Advanced Cryptographic Solutions and Scalable Architectures: Advanced cryptographic solution, including both hardware devices and software-based implementations, capable of securing high-speed, ground – and space-based communications. Hardware solutions, such as very high-speed High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptors (HAIPE), must be mass-producible and low SWaP-C. Software-based solutions should be flexible and efficient. All proposed solutions must follow the latest guidance in quantum resilience and zero-trust properties

• Enterprise System of Systems Digital Engineering for Mission Analysis, Test, and Training: Rapidly developed, low-cost, low maintenance calibrated digital engineering tools and approaches to advance the SDA PWSA Enterprise Digital Ecosystem. This environment must support mission modeling, simulation, and analysis (MS&A), as well as system testing and operator training activities. Solutions should be built upon a common set of reference data across the PWSA design, development and operations lifecycle, without labor-intensive administration of comprehensive, high-fidelity digital twins.

This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 and 2 CFR § 200.203. Any resultant award negotiations will follow all pertinent law and regulation, and any negotiations and/or awards for procurement contracts will use procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing, as specified in the BAA.

• Advanced Tools and Environments for Operations, Test and Training: Advanced tools, components, and modules that can contribute to a government-owned, integrated digital environment supporting the full Lifecyle of the PWSA. This interest in modular contributions across operations, test and training, including intuitive visualization interfaces for Operation Centers that fuse mission data into a common operational picture, robust tools for automated system testing and performance validation, and high-fidelity modules for realistic operator training in contested scenarios.

• Ground Segment Framework Evolution and Integration: Advancements that enable a more modular, scalable, and resilient PWSA Ground Segment. May include MOSA‑aligned framework designs; abstraction layers that simplify integration of new applications and services, such as Custody Mission Management and Network Orchestration; approaches that enhance interoperability across ground, space, and mission‑partner environments; and techniques that support low‑risk evolution or rehosting of existing Ground Segment capabilities. Enabling solutions should provide tangible artifacts that lower the barrier for third-party application integration and further enable cross-tranche interoperability. These shall include, but are not limited to, standardized APIs, Software Development Kits (SDKs), and executable digital models that prove system interoperability.

• Dynamic Operations: Coordinated autonomous control of space vehicles, payloads, and network resources to achieve a desired mission effect. This includes dynamic, status-aware, and optionally AI-enabled algorithms and systems for the automation of resource allocation, scheduling, and network orchestration. Solutions must enable the real-time prioritization of software processes, dynamic tasking of missile tracking and surveillance resources, intelligent power cycling of payloads, and the adjustment of data routing to meet evolving mission demands in a contested environment.

Attachments to this Broad Agency Announcement (BAA):

• Sample – Prototype OTA

IV. Award Information A. General Award Information

Multiple awards are anticipated. The number of resources made available under this BAA will depend on the quality of the proposals received, the direct correlation between anticipated results and enhanced warfighting capability, and the availability of funds.

The Government reserves the right to select for negotiation all, some, one, or none of the proposals received in response to this solicitation and to make awards without discussions with proposers. The Government also reserves the right to conduct discussions if it is determined to be in the Government’s best interest. If warranted, portions of resulting awards may be segregated into pre-priced options. Additionally, the Government reserves the right to accept proposals in their entirety or to select only portions of proposals for award. In the event that the Government desires to award only portions of a proposal, negotiations will be opened with that proposer for those specific portions selected. The Government reserves the right to fund proposals in phases with options for continued

This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 and 2 CFR § 200.203. Any resultant award negotiations will follow all pertinent law and regulation, and any negotiations and/or awards for procurement contracts will use procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing, as specified in the BAA.

work, as applicable, based on the accomplishments of previously funded efforts.

Awards under this BAA will be made to proposers on the basis of the evaluation criteria listed below (see Section VII, “Application Review Information”), and program balance to provide overall value to the Government. The Government reserves the right to request any additional, necessary documentation once it makes the award instrument determination. Such additional information may include but is not limited to Representations and Certifications (see Section VIII.E.4, “Representations and Certifications”). The Government reserves the right to remove proposals from award consideration, should the parties fail to reach agreement on award terms, conditions, and/or cost/price within a reasonable time, or the proposer fails to provide requested additional information in a timely manner. Proposals identified for negotiation may result in a procurement contract or OTA, depending upon the nature of the work proposed, the required degree of interaction between parties, and other factors. Any requests for or assumptions regarding Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) or Government Furnished Information (GFI) shall be clearly stated in the proposal or may not be provided.

For any OTA awarded in accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 4022, the Government may award a follow-on production contract or OTA under this BAA if: (1) that participant in the OTA, or a recognized successor in interest to the OTA, successfully completed the entire prototype project provided for in the OTA, as modified; and (2) the OTA provides for the award of a follow-on production contract or OTA to the participant, or a recognized successor in interest to the OTA. In all cases, the Government contracting/agreements officer shall have sole discretion to select award instrument type, regardless of instrument type proposed, and to negotiate all instrument terms and conditions with selectees.

Any award resulting from this BAA will include a requirement for SDA permission before publishing any information related to the SDA-funded effort. The following, or similar, language will be incorporated into awards:

There shall be no dissemination or publication, except within and between the contractor and any sub awardees, of information developed under this contract/agreement or contained in the reports to be furnished pursuant to this contract/agreement without prior written approval of SDA. All technical reports will be given proper review by the appropriate authority to determine which Distribution Statement is to be applied prior to the initial distribution of these reports by the contractor.

When submitting material for written approval for open publication, the contractor/awardee must submit a request for public release to SDA and include the following information: (1) Document Information: document title, document author, short plain language description of technology discussed in the material (approximately 30 words), number of pages (or minutes of video) and document type (e.g., briefing, report, abstract, article or paper), event date, desired date for SDA’s approval; (2) SDA Program Manager/COR/AOR and contract/agreement number; and (3) Contractor/Awardee’s Information: POC name, email and phone. Allow four (4) weeks for processing;

due dates under four (4) weeks require written justification. Unusual electronic file formats may require additional processing time. Requests may be sent either via email to ussf.pentagon.sda.mbx.fa- 240126s-001@mail.mil or by mail at Space Development Agency, 1670 Air Force Pentagon, Washington, DC 20330.

This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 and 2 CFR § 200.203. Any resultant award negotiations will follow all pertinent law and regulation, and any negotiations and/or awards for procurement contracts will use procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing, as specified in the BAA.

V. Eligibility Information A. Eligible Applicants

All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal that shall be considered by SDA.

1. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), and Government Entities

(1) FFRDCs and UARCs FFRDCs and UARCs are subject to applicable direct competition limitations and cannot propose to this BAA in any capacity unless they meet the following conditions: (1) FFRDCs/UARCs must clearly demonstrate that the proposed work is not otherwise available from the private sector, and (2) FFRDCs/UARCs must provide a letter on official letterhead from their sponsoring organization that (a) cites the specific authority establishing their eligibility to propose to Government solicitations and compete with industry, and (b) certifies the FFRDCs/UARCs compliance with the associated FFRDC/UARC sponsor agreement’s terms and conditions. These conditions are a requirement for FFRDCs/UARCs proposing to be awardees or sub awardees.

All proposers are expected to address transition; transition is part of the evaluation criteria in Section VI.A. However, given their special status, FFRDCs/UARCs should describe how and when a proposed technology/system will transition and identify to which non-FFRDC organization(s).

2. Government Entities Government Entities (e.g., Government/National laboratories, military educational institutions, etc.) are subject to applicable direct competition limitations. Government Entities must clearly demonstrate that the work is not otherwise available from the private sector and provide written documentation citing the specific statutory authority and contractual authority, if relevant, establishing their ability to propose to Government solicitations and compete with industry. This information is required for Government Entities proposing to be awardees or sub awardees.

3. Authority and Eligibility At the present time, SDA does not consider 15 U.S.C. § 3710a to be sufficient legal authority to show eligibility. While 10 U.S.C.§ 4892 may be the appropriate statutory starting point for some entities, specific supporting regulatory guidance, together with evidence of agency approval, will still be required to fully establish eligibility. SDA will consider FFRDC/UARC and Government Entity eligibility submissions on a case-by-case basis; however, the burden to prove eligibility for all team members rests solely with the proposer.

4. Non-U.S. Organizations and/or Individuals Non-U.S. organizations and/or individuals may participate to the extent that such participants comply with any necessary nondisclosure agreements, security regulations, export control laws, and other governing statutes applicable under the circumstances.

5. Security

5.1 Classified Work

This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 and 2 CFR § 200.203. Any resultant award negotiations will follow all pertinent law and regulation, and any negotiations and/or awards for procurement contracts will use procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing, as specified in the BAA.

Proposed work could potentially involve access to or the generation of classified information.

Proposals that anticipate classified work will include a security plan. The security plan will detail how the team’s security capabilities will enable the technical plan (facilities, key personnel clearances, networks, security personnel assigned to support), as well as identify possible security challenges and proposed solution(s) unique to the proposer team and technical plan. Common program security requirements and challenges include but are not limited to A classified IT systems, classified facility construction and accreditation, operational security (OPSEC), Intelligence Oversight (IO), contracting sub-contracting, foreign participation or materials utilization, range utilization and support plans (air, sea, land, space, and cyber), data dissemination, asset transportation, classified test activity, and classified material asset disposition. The security plan does not count as part of the 5 -page limit.

5.2 Unclassified Submissions

Unclassified abstracts must be submitted through the Broad Agency Announcement designated email address. Please see submission instructions in sectionsVI.

5.3 Classified Submissions

Classified abstracts and proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements, instructions, and procedures contained within the Classified Submission Requirements, Instructions, and Procedures in Section VI. Classified submissions must NOT be submitted through the Broad Agency Announcement designated email address.

B. Organizational Conflicts of Interest

1. FAR 9.5 Requirements

In accordance with FAR 9.5, proposers are required to identify and disclose all facts relevant to potential OCIs involving the proposer’s organization and any proposed team member (sub awardee, consultant). Under this Section, the proposer is responsible for providing this disclosure with each proposal submitted to the BAA. The disclosure must include the proposer’s and, as applicable, proposed team member’s OCI mitigation plan. The OCI mitigation plan must include a description of the actions the proposer has taken, or intends to take, to prevent the existence of conflicting roles that might bias the proposer’s judgment and to prevent the proposer from having unfair competitive advantage. The OCI mitigation plan will specifically discuss the disclosed OCI in the context of each of the OCI limitations outlined in FAR 9.505-1 through FAR 9.505-4.

2. Agency Supplemental OCI Policy In addition, SDA has a supplemental OCI policy that prohibits contractors/performers from concurrently providing Scientific Engineering Technical Assistance (SETA), Advisory and Assistance Services (A&AS), Mission System Engineering and Integration (MSE&I) Services, Operations and Integration Services, or similar support services and being a technical performer.

Therefore, as part of the FAR 9.5 disclosure requirement above, a proposer must affirm whether the proposer or any proposed team member (sub awardee, consultant) is providing SETA, A&AS, or similar support to SDA under: (a) a current award or subaward; or (b) a past award or subaward that ended within one calendar year prior to the proposal’s submission date.

If SETA, A&AS, or similar support is being or was provided to SDA, the proposal must include:

This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 and 2 CFR § 200.203. Any resultant award negotiations will follow all pertinent law and regulation, and any negotiations and/or awards for procurement contracts will use procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing, as specified in the BAA.

• The prime contract number;

• Identification of proposed team member (sub awardee, consultant) providing the support; and

• An OCI mitigation plan in accordance with FAR 9.5.

Government Procedures In accordance with FAR 9.503, 9.504 and 9.506, the Government will evaluate OCI mitigation plans to avoid, neutralize or mitigate potential OCI issues before award and to determine whether it is in the Government’s interest to grant a waiver. The Government will only evaluate OCI mitigation plans for proposals that are determined selectable under the BAA evaluation criteria and for which funds are available.

The Government may require proposers to provide additional information to assist the Government in evaluating the proposer’s OCI mitigation plan. Proposers shall clearly delineate their approach to ensure physical, organizational and financial separation of the proposing entity and the potentially conflicted entity.

If the Government determines that a proposer failed to fully disclose an OCI; or failed to provide the affirmation of SDA support as described above; or failed to reasonably provide additional information requested by the Government to assist in evaluating the proposer’s OCI mitigation plan, the Government may reject the proposal and withdraw it from consideration for award.

C. Cost Sharing/Matching Cost sharing is not required; however, it will be carefully considered where there is an applicable statutory condition relating to the selected funding instrument. Cost sharing is encouraged where there is a reasonable probability of a potential commercial application related to the proposed research and development effort.

For more information on potential cost sharing requirements for Other Transactions for Prototype, see: https://aaf.dau.edu/aaf/contracting-cone/ot/.

VI. Application and Submission Information A. Application Assistance

All administrative correspondence and questions on this solicitation, including requests for information on how to submit an Executive Summary, invited Proposal Abstract, or invited full Proposal to this BAA, should be directed to ussf.pentagon.sda.mbx.fa-240126s-001@mail.mil

B. Content and Form of Submission

Proposers are strongly encouraged to submit an Executive Summary and, encouraged to submit, a Proposal Abstract in advance of a full Proposal. This procedure is intended to minimize unnecessary effort and cost in proposal preparation and review. Proposers are reminded that SDA’s ability and appetite for technology development are limited, and our focus is and will remain at the PWSA level to better serve the warfighter and ensure mission accomplishment. SDA highly values industry partnership and seeks to ensure your resources are applied efficiently and effectively wherever possible.

https://aaf.dau.edu/aaf/contracting-cone/ot/

This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 and 2 CFR § 200.203. Any resultant award negotiations will follow all pertinent law and regulation, and any negotiations and/or awards for procurement contracts will use procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing, as specified in the BAA.

All submissions must be written in English with type not smaller than 12-point font. A page is defined as being no larger than an electronically formatted page of 8.5” by 11.0” with type not smaller than 12 point and margins no smaller than one (1) inch on all sides. Smaller font (no less than 10 point) may be used for figures, tables, and charts. Copies of all documents submitted must be clearly labeled with the SDA BAA number, proposer organization, SDA focus area(s) as described in Section III.C, and proposal title/proposal short title.

For a proposal that includes both classified and unclassified information, the proposal may be separated into an unclassified portion and a classified portion. The proposal should use the unclassified portion to the maximum extent reasonable. Submissions should be made according to the instructions outlined in Section VI.D.

NOTE: Non-conforming submissions that do not follow the instructions herein may be rejected without further review.

1. Executive Summary (ES) Format Executive Summaries are strongly encouraged in advance of submitting invited proposal abstracts and invited full proposals to provide potential proposers with a rapid response to minimize unnecessary effort. Proposers should specifically and clearly address the innovation of their proposed system or subsystem component development, the scientific or technical basis for innovative claims, and the architectural impact of the proposed development on warfighter mission capabilities, efficiency, or effectiveness. SDA policy is to treat all submissions as source selection information (see FAR 2.101 and 3.104), and to disclose their contents only for the purpose of evaluation. The executive summary should be clearly marked “EXECUTIVE SUMMARY,” and the total length shall not exceed two [2] pages. All executive summary submissions must be written in narrative form. No formal transmittal letter is required, but submissions must include the organization name, submission title, SDA focus area(s) as described in Section III.C, and technical POC information (e-mail and mailing address).

2. Proposal Abstract (PA) Format Proposers are strongly encouraged to submit a proposal abstract, or white paper, in advance of a proposal. * Abstracts should follow the same general format as described for proposals (see Section VI.B.3) but include ONLY sections I and II of Volume I, Technical and Management Proposal. The abstract must include a statement of the anticipated Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost and the anticipated duration of the proposed effort. It is recommended that proposers provide sufficient information to assess the technical performance claims – SDA policy is to treat all submissions as source selection information (see FAR 2.101 and 3.104), and to disclose their contents only for the purpose of evaluation. The cover sheet should be clearly marked “ABSTRACT,” and the total length should not exceed five [5] pages. The maximum page count excludes the cover page in Volume I, Technical and Management Proposal, section I, and official transmittal letter, but does include any figures, tables, or other graphics. An official transmittal letter is not required.

* In some cases, a proposer may be encouraged by the Government to proceed from an executive summary to a full proposal without submitting an abstract.

3. Full Proposal (FP) Format

This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 and 2 CFR § 200.203. Any resultant award negotiations will follow all pertinent law and regulation, and any negotiations and/or awards for procurement contracts will use procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing, as specified in the BAA.

All proposals must be in the format given below. Non-conforming proposals may be rejected without review. The typical proposal should express a consolidated effort in support of one (1) or more related technical concepts or ideas. Disjointed efforts should not be included into a single proposal.

Proposals shall consist of two (2) volumes: 1) Volume I, Technical and Management Proposal (composed of three (3) parts), and 2) Volume II, Cost Proposal. The maximum page limit for Volume I is 15 pages (25 pages if the proposal total value exceeds $1 million). Bracketed numbers by each section denote page limits. The page limitation for full proposals includes all figures, tables, and charts.

Ensure that each section provides the detailed discussion of the proposed work necessary to enable an in-depth review of the specific technical and managerial issues. Specific attention must be given to addressing cost, schedule, technical and programmatic risks, and architectural payoff of the proposed work that make it of specific mission value to SDA.

Volume I, Technical and Management Proposal, described below, may include an attached bibliography of relevant technical papers or research notes (published and unpublished), which document the technical ideas and approach upon which the proposal is based. Copies of not more than three (3) relevant papers may be included with the submission. The bibliography and attached papers are not included in the page limits. The submission of other supporting materials along with the proposals is strongly discouraged and will not be considered for review.

4. Volume 1, Technical and Management Proposal Section I: Administrative

(1) Cover Sheet to include {no page limit}:

(2) BAA number (FA240126S0001)

(3) SDA focus area(s);

(4) Lead organization submitting proposal;

(5) Type of organization, selected among the following categories: “LARGE BUSINESS,”

“SMALL DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS,” “OTHER SMALL BUSINESS,”

“HBCU,” “MI,” “OTHER EDUCATIONAL,” OR “OTHER NONPROFIT”;

(6) Proposer’s reference number (if any);

(7) Other team members (if applicable) and type of organization for each;

(8) Proposal title;

(9) Technical point of contact to include: salutation, last name, first name, street address, city, state, zip code, telephone, electronic mail;

(10) Administrative point of contact to include: salutation, last name, first name, street address, city, state, zip code, telephone, electronic mail;

(11) Total funds requested from SDA, including total base cost, estimates of base cost in each year of the effort, estimates of itemized options in each year of the effort, and the

This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 and 2 CFR § 200.203. Any resultant award negotiations will follow all pertinent law and regulation, and any negotiations and/or awards for procurement contracts will use procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing, as specified in the BAA.

amount of cost share (if any);

(12) Award instrument requested: cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF), cost-contract – no fee, cost sharing contract – no fee, or other type of procurement contract (specify), or other transaction;

(13) Place(s) and period(s) of performance;

(14) Summary of the costs of the proposed research, including total base cost, estimates of base cost in each year of the effort, estimates of itemized options in each year of the effort, and cost sharing if relevant;

(15) Name, address, and telephone number of the proposer’s cognizant Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) administration office (if known);

(16) Name, address, and telephone number of the proposer’s cognizant Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) audit office (if known);

(17) Unique Entity ID (UEI);

(18) Cage code (lead organization);

(19) Proposal validity period (minimum 180 days);

(20) Affirmation of existing SETA or A&AS support contracts (see Section IV, Section B).

If none, state “none”;

(21) Statement of Unique Capability Provided by Government or Government- Funded

Team Member {no page limit};

(22) Per Section V.A – Eligible Applicants, proposals that include Government or

Government-funded entities (i.e., FFRDCs, UARCs, National laboratories, etc.) as prime, subcontractor or team member, shall provide a…