SDA reissues transport satellite solicitation as OTA; GAO dismisses protest

(Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details on the new solicitation)

The Government Accountability Office today dismissed a protest of the Space Development Agency's Tranche 1 Transport Layer solicitation, following the agency's decision to rescind the original solicitation and reissue it as an other transaction agreement "to avoid the perception that competition was limited in some way."

"While this is a shift from our earlier acquisition approach, OTAs generally allow for a more streamlined solicitation, evaluation, and contract award processes that is well-suited for SDA," SDA spokeswoman Jennifer Elzea said in a statement Thursday. "This change is not expected to substantially impact the delivery timeline, cost, or technical requirements for the Tranche 1 Transport Layer."

Maxar Technologies protested the T1TL solicitation on Oct. 8, claiming the service's solicitation limited competition. Elzea said today SDA is "committed to full and open competition" and that any perceived limitation was inadvertent. 

The T1TL will be made up of 126 communication satellites that will form the foundation of SDA's initial warfighting capability in low Earth orbit. The agency expects to begin launching the satellites in September 2024.

SDA plans to launch an additional 18 experimental satellites as part of the same tranche and released a draft request for proposals for the effort earlier this month. SDA director Derek Tournear said during an America's Future Series event Thursday the agency expects to release a formal RFP in January or February.

In the new T1TL OTA solicitation, released Thursday afternoon, the 126 satellites will be divided into six orbital planes and awarded to multiple vendors, depending on how much funding is available. Responses are due Nov. 24.

SDA plans to release a separate draft RFP for the ground and integration component of T1TL next week, Tournear said a formal solicitation will likely come early next year, following the satellite awards.