GSA makes awards on ASTRO manned & unmanned product contract

The General Services Administration chooses dozens of firms for the much-anticipated and massive ASTRO contract vehicle covering manned, optionally manned and unmanned platforms and services.

The General Services Administration has made dozens of awards for its much-anticipated and massive ASTRO contract vehicle to acquire manned, optionally manned and unmanned platforms and services.

No dollar value has apparently been attached to the contract, but given the specs and large number of awardees it could be measured into the billions versus millions.

GSA broke out the awards into 10 pools covering several aspects of the technology ranging from the platforms themselves and services wrapped around the products, including those with robotics capability.

Companies could pursue more than one pool for the contract, of which the full list of awardees revealed Wednesday can be seen here.

GSA primarily developed the contract for the Defense Department and especially the military's combatant commands. 

Price was not a factor to get a seat on ASTRO. Pricing will be set through competitions at the task order level. Bidders did have to use a self-scoring method for detailing their capabilities and past performance with the needed supporting documentation.

ASTRO will start with a five-year base and GSA has the option to extend the contract for five more years. GSA can conduct on-ramp competitions to bring new companies into the fold and use the off-ramp method to eliminate businesses the agency sees as not fulfilling the requirements enough.