Space
Development
Agency
graphic
Updated
02/19/2025
at
5:46
pm
ET
to
include
SDA
response.
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.
“The
intent
is
that
release
of
the
currently
contemplated
new
solicitation
would
be
soon.
Specific
terms
about
a
new
solicitation
would
be
provided
in
the
new
solicitation
when
released,”
a
Space
Development
Agency
spokesperson
told
Breaking
Defense
today.
“At
this
time,
the
currently
contemplated
new
solicitation
would
not
exclude
any
eligible
company
from
competing,”
the
spokesperson
added.
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
a
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.