Space Force will have to defend $700M award
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By
Nick Wakeman
Space Force must now further explain why it picked Booz Allen Hamilton over both the incumbent and another challenger for a $678 million contract to support remote sensing efforts.
Space Force decided to move away from the incumbent on a $678 million contract for remote sensing support when it picked newcomer Booz Allen Hamilton for the work.
Now Space Force must give more explanation on why it did so after two protests were filed by Science Applications International Corp. and ManTech International.
The Systems Engineering and Integration Service Support contract was held by SAIC and being recompeted under the OASIS professional services vehicle. ManTech pursued the award as a takeaway like Booz Allen did.
SAIC and ManTech are challenging the evaluation of their proposals. Both are arguing that if the evaluation was done properly, they would have been selected for the award.
The work traces back to a contract first won by TASC in 2010. Five years later, TASC was acquired by Engility. SAIC then acquired Engility in 2019.
Responsibilities under the contract include configuration, interface, and schedule management. There also are risk management and data management requirements.
SAIC filed its protest on Feb. 7 and ManTech followed one day later. Due dates for a Government Accountability Office decision also are one day apart: May 18 for SAIC and May 19 for ManTech.
GAO often joins protests for the same contract together into a single decision, but that will depend on how similar the challenges are.
In the meantime, Space Force cannot move forward with the Booz Allen award while the protests are pending.