Payload Purchase for Recapitalization of Enhanced Polar System (EPS)

This is a Notice of Contract Action, not a request for quote. IAW authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 5.207(c)(16) any responsible sources may submit a capability statement or proposal which shall be considered by the agency. In accordance with FAR 6.302-1 the U.S. Department of the Air Force, Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), MILSATCOM Systems Directorate contracting branch (SMC/PKJ) located at Los Angeles AFB, CA intends to award a sole source new contract to Northrop Grumman (One Space Park, Redondo Beach, CA 90278). A copy of the justification will be made public within 14 days of contract award. The Contractor is responsible for providing the necessary personnel, material, services, and facilities to produce, integrate, and test the payloads. The Contractor is going to define and document the required specifications, interfaces, design features and constraints, hardware and software elements, and data products necessary to support the Government's acquisition, integration and test (I&T), launch, and on-orbit operation of the EPS-R payloads. The Contractor is going to provide program management, business and scheduling management, subcontracts management, mission assurance, material acquisition management, and processes management. The negotiated sole source new contract will include the following: - Two EPS functional equivalent EHF SATCOM payloads with eXtended Data Rate (XDR) waveform capability ready for delivery NLT CY21 - Continuous coverage from 65'N to 90'N latitude (North Polar Region) utilizing two payloads in a Three Apogee (TAP) orbit - High Technical Readiness Level (TRL) components, TRL-9 required - Compatible with all EPS-capable XDR terminals, e.g., Navy Multiband Terminal and EPS Telemetry and Command Terminal (T&C-T) - Sufficient maturity to support system-level Preliminary Design Review (PDR) no later than one year after authority to proceed - Interface and integrate with the EPS ground segments (i.e., Gateway, and the Control and Planning Segment "CAPS") with minimal impacts to ground systems - Meet host spacecraft Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) specifications In addition to the services above, the Contractor will support the following which will be led by the host organization's prime Contractor(s): - Integration and Test (I&T) of the Space Vehicle (SV) and Launch Vehicle (LV) - End-to-end System Test and Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) - Launch and Operations - Storage of payloads A projected Request for Proposal release date for this effort is estimated to be no sooner than 15 calendar days after this Notice of Contract Action and will be directed solely to the prospective source identified above. The notice expires 15 days after publication. Agency/Office: Department of the Air Force/Air Force Space Command Contracting Office Location: Los Angeles AFB, CA SMC/PKJ 483 North Aviation Blvd El Segundo, California 90245-2808