Space Development Agency graphic
WASHINGTON — As a result of a lawsuit by Viasat, the Department of the Air Force has agreed to revoke a Space Development Agency award to Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems worth $254 million for 10 experimental fire-control satellites, and reopen bidding.
Documents filed on Feb. 14 in the US Court of Federal Claims by the Air Force, first reported by Aviation Week, further state that SDA’s companion contract to York Space Systems — worth $170 million for 10 Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL) Gamma variant prototype space vehicles — will not be affected.
The court filings do not provide a proposed schedule for the new bid process, but do reveal that it will be managed by officials who were not involved in overseeing the original contract awards.
Neither the Space Development Agency nor the Air Force responded by press time to inquiries about the proposed resolution of the protest.
As first reported by Breaking Defense, the Viasat bid protest filed in September was the trigger for the Air Force’s Jan. 16 decision to place SDA Director Derek Tournear on administrative leave.
The Feb. 14 court documents state that an internal Air Force evaluation determined that an unnamed “SDA employee,” in advance of the Gamma contract award, revealed to Tyvak that its bid price “was the second highest and would not be selected for award.” This action was determined by the senior Air Force official in charge of the review, Maj. Gen. Alice Trevino, to be a violation of the Procurement Integrity Act that regulates government contracting practices.
The documents note that the rebidding process was deemed necessary by SDA because the requirement for the 10 Gamma vehicles awarded to Tyvak, now a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, remains crucial to the success of its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture of low Earth orbit satellites — but with the caveat that a substantial delay in the process and/or increased costs could cause a reevaluation of that requirement and the need for a new competition.
While SDA has explained that the Gamma satellites will not be part of the operational Transport Layer of data relay satellites, the agency has said that they instead are part of its efforts to develop fire control capabilities for missile defense and the experimental FOO Fighter program. Further, such fire control capabilities could be a key part of SDA’s contribution to the Trump administration’s newly planned Iron Dome for America missile defense shield.
Attorneys for Tyvak and York have accepted the Air Force’s plan, the Air Force court filings state. However, the documents add that Viasat had not responded to the proposal as of the time of their filing.
“Viasat does not comment on ongoing filings and litigation as matter of policy,” a spokesperson for the company told Breaking Defense today.
“York is a strong supporter of transparency and the integrity of the USG’s selection process. We are glad the investigation made public some of its findings that clearly show York was not involved in any wrongdoing, and support the integrity of our award on merits,” a spokesperson for the company said today.
Lockheed Martin did not respond by press time to a request for comment.
