Justification for Special Notice #23-08 - Authorizing Stand-alone sole source OTA - prototype Medium Earth Orbit Missile Track Custody - Epoch 1

Background
The United States Space Force is seeking to justify a special notice authorizing stand-alone sole source other transaction authority (OTA) for the procurement of three additional satellite vehicles (SV), SVs 4-6, from Millennium Space Systems. This justification is in accordance with 10 USC 4022 (formerly 10 USC 2371b) and aims to prove the missile warning (MW)/missile track (MT) capability in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) while delivering on affordability and avoiding duplication of costs due to non-recurring engineering.

Work Details
The additional SVs would be identical to the first three SVs and would be part of the overall Epoch 1 prototype effort. The procurement of SVs 4-6 on a stand-alone OTA aims to maintain the integrity of the ongoing competition under SpEC for capability demonstration and preserve the government’s right to utilize a follow-on production contract upon successful completion of the prototype.

The addition of MSS SVs 4-6 allows communication between SVs 1-3 without design changes or additional cost, and avoids the need for an additional launch vehicle. The government must award the OTA in FY23 to ensure timely delivery and meet mission requirements.

Period of Performance
The activities related to building, integrating, and testing mission payloads and buses for a mid-FY25 delivery, as well as ensuring integrated Space Vehicles by mid-FY26 in preparation for the scheduled 4QFY26 launch, coincide with the current three MSS SVs 1-3. All six SVs are planned to launch together on one launch vehicle in 4QFY26, meeting the mission need.