Space Force opens $981M competition for test and training infrastructure

Space Force has released the final solicitation for its $981 million NITE STAR contract to support its test and training infrastructure.

Proposals are due April 17 and Space Force expects to award positions by July 1. NITE STAR will have a five-year base with a single five-year option period.

The multiple-award contract will support space test and training infrastructure capabilities, which essentially are the systems and ranges used to test and train for space operation. This includes ranges, satellites, ground systems and digital environments.

NITE STAR's most hardware-intensive aspect covers space and ground systems development, where contractors will design, build and deliver satellites and spacecraft payloads. Contractors will also build the ground stations, sensors, telescopes and command-and control systems.

Contractors will also be responsible for building digital twins of the space and grounds systems so they can be tested and validated.

Space Force will use other parts of the contract for system sustainment, enterprise and range enhancements, and special studies.

The solicitation also calls out the use of model-based systems engineering, DevSecOps software principles, modular open systems architectures and continuous authority-to-operate approaches.

The statement of work also lists the current organizations supporting these efforts. This includes several federally-funded research-and-development corporations such as Aerospace, Mitre and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Winning bidders will work with these organizations going forward. The statement of work lists other contractors supporting Space Force such as Science Applications International Corp., General Dynamics IT and ManTech International.

Space Force intends to make awards to all qualifying bidders, rather than a select number of awards. On-ramps will also take place during the course of the contract.

To be considered for an award, bidders must demonstrate that they meet security requirements. This includes having a Top-Secret facility clearance and systems being in compliance with the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Risk Management Framework.

If they cannot demonstrate this, they will not be evaluated further.

Once past that first gate, they must be CMMC Level 2 certified and submit two qualifying relevant projects. One must be for a space system and one for a ground system. The work must be performed as a prime.

The final hurdle is “compliance and completeness” of the documentation, including mitigation plans for any organizational conflicts of interest.

Space Force is not asking for pricing information. Pricing will be determined at the task order level, which is where the real competition will occur.

One final tidbit worth noting: Space Force intends to use artificial intelligence as a tool to help with the evaluation of proposals.