Enhanced Polar System (EPS) Control and Planning Segment (CAPS) and Payload Sustainment (ECPS)   5

The ECPS Program Office, SSC/CGM, Peterson SFB, Colorado is seeking a source to sustain the Enhanced Polar System (EPS) Control and Planning Segment (CAPS) and Payload Sustainment (ECPS), which enables planning, telemetry, and control of secure Extremely High Frequency (EHF) eXtended Data Rate (XDR) communications in the North Polar Region.

The Sources Sought is for the follow-on contract to the current EPS CAPS Sustainment (ECS) contract, FA8823-20-C-0005, that concludes on 22 February 2025. The Government intends to award a contract for five years (one year base period with four one-year options). If all options are exercised, the period of performance would be from 23 February 2025 through 22 Feb 2030.

EPS payloads are currently hosted on a classified space segment which includes a ground element for space vehicle command and control. The EPS ground segments include a Northern Tier SATCOM Gateway located at Clear SFS, AK that provides DoDIN connectivity via the Camp Roberts Teleport, a payload control and mission planning element located at Schriever SFB, CO, and an out-of-band telemetry and command capability through a controlled interface. Security clearance required, at a minimum, is SECRET and will require access to COMSEC to include the prime to have a COMSEC account.

Specific contract requirements include, but are not limited to, performance of the following:

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT: The contractor will provide program management.

This will include:

• Maintaining Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software licenses, hardware warranties, service contracts, and subscription services
• Conducting regular tag-up meetings with Government counterparts
• Providing support for various ad hoc technical meetings
• Providing financial reporting
• Maintaining equipment accountability for all Government Furnished Equipment (GFE)
• Maintaining and management an electronic data exchange system

CONTRACTOR LABS AND INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT: The contractor will be required to provide contractor labs and manage infrastructure support.

This will include:

• Maintaining licenses, service contracts, warranties and subscription services
• Providing maintenance, support, and troubleshooting for labs
• Providing system administration support for labs
• Performing Communications Security (COMSEC) duties
• Maintaining hardware/software baselines on the operational system

DEPOT LEVEL HARDWARE SUPPORT: The contractor will be required provide depot level hardware support.

This will include:

• Providing engineering support for technical assist requests
• Managing the hardware baseline configuration

SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE: The contractor will be required to provide software maintenance to the control segment and its systems.

This will include:

• Assessing initial impacts of documented problem reports
• Designing, developing, and modifying software to satisfy requirements, prevent performance degradation
• Testing software releases to ensure changes fix problem(s) identified in a problem report
• Delivering and supporting installation of software releases to the operational system
• Providing satellite bus/payload software sustaining engineering support
• Providing on-orbit satellite operations and software sustainment support

SYSTEMS ENGINEERING: The contractor will be required to conduct systems engineering activities.

This will include:

• Ensuring all required interfaces are maintained as part of the sustainment and maintenance of the system
• Maintaining all system and element specifications
• Performing special studies
• Developing and providing system performance metrics and reports
• Maintaining the system to meet documented system requirements
• Providing support for all technical meetings and planning forums

TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS SUPPORT: The contractor will be required manage technical documentation.

This will include:

• Maintaining operational and maintenance technical manuals and Standard Operating Procedures
• Documenting/completing changes to engineering drawings that result from maintenance actions.

CYBERSECURITY: The contractor will be required integrate cybersecurity requirements, functional activities and corrective actions into sustainment activities, and coordinate with Government representatives IAW DoDI 8500.01 and DoDI 8510.01.

This will include:

• Identifying Cybersecurity and Cyber Information Technology positions of appropriate levels to integrate Cybersecurity requirements
• Ensuring design changes, configuration changes, or hardware/software installations are accomplished IAW Cyber directives
• Providing artifacts in support of required DoD Cybersecurity Risk Management Framework (RMF)
• Tracking, analyzing, and implementing cybersecurity vulnerability patches/antivirus signatures
• Reviewing current vulnerabilities that apply to the ECS system on a regular cycle and develop of list of potential vulnerabilities and impacts to the system
• Working with the Government on developing a continuous monitoring strategy to ensure all security controls are monitored over time for effectiveness
• Establishing and implementing a Supply Chain Risk Management process

ESTABLISH/ADMINISTER DIRECT SALES PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PPP): The contractor will be required to establish a direct sales PPP with the Government depot.

This will include:

• Negotiating and implementing a PPP Implementation Agreement (IA)
• Developing a staffing plan for the PPP
• Providing technical and lab support

Providing training to support the PPP