SDA_E3_SETA_Support_JandA_(betaSAM).pdf

SPACE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

3030 Defense Pentagon

Washington, DC 20301-0001

Space Development Agency Engineering and Program Support

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND

OPEN COMPETITION

PART I - JUSTIFICATION

1. Contracting Activity.

Space Development Agency, 3030 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-3030

2. Description of Action Being Approved

This justification and approval is for technical and program support for the Space Development Agency (SDA). As a result of this action, SDA will receive critical technical and program support to accomplish its mission to rapidly develop and deploy a threat-driven, next-generation space architecture to counter near-peer efforts to contest or deny our space-based systems. In an era of renewed great power competition with an emergent China and resurgent Russia, maintaining the United States’ advantage in space is critical to winning these long-term strategic competitions. Potential adversaries seek to undermine our advantage by employing strategies that exploit real or perceived vulnerabilities in current and planned National Security Space systems. In addition, these potential adversaries are developing and demonstrating multi-domain threats to national security much faster than we can deploy responsive space-based capabilities.

Upon approval to use other than full and open competitive procedures, SDA will procure the services listed in Section 3 below by issuing a new, follow-on contract to existing contract number HQ0034-18-F- 0002. The contract will be issued to:

E3 Federal Solutions 8281 Greensboro Drive, Suite 400 McLean, VA 22102

3. Description of Required Services

SDA’s mission is to define and monitor the Department’s future threat-driven space architecture and to accelerate the development and fielding of new military space capabilities. To achieve this mission, SDA has adopted an agile approach to develop rapidly a proliferated, multi-functional constellation of small satellites to counter current and emerging threats. SDA is focused on the eight essential capabilities described in the Department’s Report to Congressional Defense Committees: Final Report on Organizational and Management Structure for the National Security Space Components of the Department of Defense, August 9, 2018. These capabilities include:

• Persistent global surveillance for advanced missile targeting,

• Indications, warning, targeting, and tracking for defense against advanced missile threats,

• Alternate positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) for a GPS-denied environment,

• Global and near-real time space situational awareness,

• Development of deterrent capability,

• Responsive, resilient, common ground-based space support infrastructure (e.g., ground stations and launch capability),

• Cross-domain, networked, node-independent battle management command, control, and communications (BMC3), including nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3), and

• Highly-scaled, low-latency, persistent, artificial-intelligence-enabled global surveillance.

With this action, SDA will procure highly specialized technical and program assistance services to support the development of the above technical capabilities. Specific areas of support services include engineering, program analysis, financial, graphics/web design, business processes, and public relations services. The contract for these services will consist of a 6-month base period with one 6-month option.

The contract type will be Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) with Not-To-Exceed (NTE) line items for travel and Other Direct Costs (ODCs). The estimated award date is 1 April 2020.

Base Period Estimate: $2,500,000 Option Period Estimate: $2,500,000

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition

10 U.S.C. §2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. Specifically, FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(B) applies, which allows DoD to contract with the original source in the case of follow-on contracts for highly-specialized services when it is likely that award to any other source would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements.

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority

E3 Federal Solutions is the only source that can provide this highly specialized support within the current schedule constraints necessary to avoid unacceptable delays to critical Agency requirements and development milestones. Under an existing competitively awarded contract (Washington Headquarters Service contract no. HQ00341-18-F-0002), E3 Federal Solutions supports all functional areas of SDA, including systems engineering, subject matter expertise across all capability layers and programmatic support in establishing SDA’s business processes, policy, governance, and infrastructure. The time and resources required to conduct a competition for a new contractor to perform these same services would have a detrimental impact on SDA’s mission and result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling SDA’s requirements. E3 Federal Solutions is the sole source that can provide SDA with continuous, uninterrupted, highly specialized support services during an upcoming critical acquisition phase for several major SDA lines of effort. Specifically, E3 Federal Solutions provides indispensable programmatic assistance and technical expertise to ongoing design, prototyping, and demonstration efforts, which will define the framework for SDA’s long-term objectives. E3 Federal Solutions possesses unique knowledge and experience functioning within the established SDA processes and procedures that are necessary to accomplish these requirements effectively. Further E3 Federal Solutions has been successfully performing these requirements since the establishment of SDA in March 2019.

E3 Federal Solutions has direct knowledge and experience with the complex technical details associated with SDA’s threat-driven space architecture and each capability layer outlined in Section 3 above. E3 Federal Solutions provides technical expertise in military and commercial satellite communications;

Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT); and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) to drive the design and development of the Transport Layer, which is the backbone of the entire SDA next-generation architecture. E3 Federal Solutions has been closely involved in specialized technical support for the design of each of six capability layers within the architecture, bringing critical expertise in overhead persistent infrared, space situational awareness, and battle management to aid in SDA’s strategic direction and future program development for each layer. Additionally, E3 Federal Solutions provides essential support to non-technical efforts related to establishing SDA business processes, policy and governance, and infrastructure that are essential for day-to-day operations. Any interruption in support would jeopardize the progress already made in standing-up SDA as a new Defense Agency.

Therefore, this acquisition meets the statutory criteria for continued performance of highly specialized services.

Award to any other source would result in the unacceptable delays in fulfilling SDA’s requirements. For example, Request for Proposals (RFPs) for multiple on-orbit prototypes and demonstrations are scheduled for Q3 of FY2020, and a change in contractor for these highly specialized services would significantly disrupt the ability to execute these efforts on schedule. This would result in unacceptable delay to the entire SDA development time line, since these initial efforts relate directly to the Transport Layer, which in turn is the foundation driving the development of other capability layers. Accordingly, E3 Federal Solutions is the only firm capable of providing the highly specialized support services described above without SDA experiencing unacceptable delays in fulfilling its requirements.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Solicit Offers from as Many Potential Offerors as Practicable

SDA posted a sole-source intent notice on betaSAM.gov on February 12, 2020. The notice remained open for 15 calendar days. No potential sources expressed interest in the acquisition. Upon expiration of this sole source contract action, SDA intends to procure the required services through a competitive acquisition to be conducted later in FY 2020, for which the acquisition strategy is in development. SDA has begun the planning and development of this competitive acquisition now that is has received an appropriation pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, Public Law 116–93.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost

The Contracting Officer (CO) will determine a fair and reasonable cost on the basis of cost analysis. The proposed labor staffing and technical approach will be evaluated by the Government technical evaluators and the results of the technical evaluation will be used in the development of the Government cost objective.

8. Market Research

SDA is well aware of the capabilities, experience, and resources present in the market for these highly specialized services. Specific companies will be identified during market research to be conducted for the competition planned for later this year.

9. Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition

N/A

10. Written Interest in Acquisition

N/A

11. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition

Consistent with the Competition in Contracting Act, full and open competition will be undertaken for future requirements. SDA is currently engaged in the development of an acquisition strategy to acquire successor services competitively. See Section 6 above.

PART II - CERTIFICATION

I hereby certify that this request for Justification and Approval of other than Full and Open Competition is made in good faith; that the supporting data and information are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief; and that I would not be making this request if it were feasible to fully compete this requirement. I further certify that this request is not the result of lack of advance planning or a desire to expend funds while those funds are still available.

//signed

Chief, Business Operations Space Development Agency

PART III – LEGAL REVIEW

I have reviewed this justification, and it is legally sufficient.

Acting General Counsel

PART IV - APPROVAL

Contracting Officer/Competition Advocate

SPACE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY