Space Test and Engineering Bridge II Contract

Added: Nov 30, 2015 6:38 pm

  NOTICE OF CONTRACT ACTION (NOCA)

30 Nov 2015

NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE-SOURCE CONTRACT

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS.

This is a notice of intent to award a sole source contract under the statutory authority of 10 USC 2304(c)(1), as set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(B), only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized and award to any other source would result in unacceptable delays and duplication of costs in fulfilling the agency's requirements.

Market research was conducted in accordance with FAR Part 10 by issuing a synopsis of the proposed STEC14 acquisition, advising industry of the pending acquisition and soliciting inquiries from interested parties. While industry interest in the STEC14 effort indicates that there are other companies that may be capable of performing the requirements, none have the ability to perform in the timeframe needed for this bridge effort apart from the incumbent. Based on the program office estimate of up to nine months to conduct a competition, and up to two months of transition to familiarize the new contractor with the requirements, there are no other companies that have the capability to provide the required services without causing an unacceptable delay.

This sole source contract will allow the incumbent, LinQuest Corporation, to provide continuing satellite operations support at SMC/ADG's Research Development Test and Evaluation Support Complex (RSC) at Kirtland AFB, NM. The existing/current STEC Bridge contract will expire 31 Jan 2016, there is continuing need to maintain the capability to conduct RSC mission operations to (1) support commanding, telemetry and payload processing for four on-orbit satellites; (2) planning and pre-launch preparation for five upcoming satellite missions, and (3) provide operations expertise for ground system modernization and automation. The current contractor possesses the required experience, as demonstrated on the current STEC Bridge contract: commanding, telemetry and payload support for satellite operations; mission design and pre-launch readiness; and operations support for major upgrades to the Multi-Mission Satellite Operations Center (MMSOC) ground architecture. Additional sustainment work in support of automated operations for the Operationally Responsive Space 1 (ORS-1) spacecraft supported by the 3rd Space Experimentation Squadron (3SES) at Schriever AFB, CO is also included in this contract. The period of performance will consist of a two (2)-month base period with two (2) additional 2-month options and will not exceed a total of six (6) months if all options are exercised.

The scope of this next bridge effort, which will henceforth be referred to as "STEC Bridge II"; is the same as scope defined by the current STEC Bridge contract. The effort includes (1) on-orbit operations support (e.g., mission planning, contact execution, data analysis and distribution, (2) orbit analysis and anomaly response) for 4 on-orbit satellites; (3) mission design and pre-launch readiness for five upcoming missions; ground system automation for two on-orbit missions; and (4) operations expertise for upgrades to the MMSOC ground system architecture. This sole source action will result in a contract with pricing requirements to include cost plus fixed fee (CPFF) line items, with an estimated contract value of $5.04M. The sole purpose of this contract is to ensure these critical mission requirements continue uninterrupted until competitive award of the follow-on contract.

The Government has been contracting with LinQuest Corporation for the continued satellite operations support on a sole source basis because of unforeseen delays in attempting to competitively award a new follow-on contract and due to the continuing need to maintain the capability to conduct RSC mission operations as aforementioned above. Any persons or companies interested in this notice are to respond to the requirement(s) and submit their capabilities to the Procurement Contracting Officer; Mr. J. Chris Milburn via e-mail at joe.milburn@us.af.mil . The capabilities statement should address why the company believes that the prior sole source justification is no longer valid.

While this notice of intent is for informational purposes only, and is not a request for competitive proposals, interested parties (to include small and small disadvantaged businesses) may identify their interest and technical capability, and submit information for consideration by the agency. Please keep the responses to 15 one-sided pages or less, with 1-inch margins on all sides, and in Times New Roman 12-point font. This announcement constitutes the only notice for this STEC Bridge II effort.

The incumbent is the only contractor who currently can provide RSC operations support given the unique and highly specialized nature of the effort. At this time, there are no other contractors who are capable of providing these services without incurring an unacceptable delay to on-going operations. As stated previously, a competitive award will be made for the follow-on STEC14 effort. The STEC14 source selection is currently in progress. The Government will post notices regarding that acquisition to FedBizOpps.

The applicable NAICS code is 541712 with a corresponding size standard of 1,000 employees.  Classification code is 'R" Professional, Administrative and Management Support Services--R425, Engineering and Technical Services.