Iridium left out of 14 firms for HoPS DOD payloads

Companies get a crack at half a billion to host DOD payloads in space - Washington Business Journal
The Pentagon announced winners of the much anticipated Hosted Payload Solutions program, which will allow the government to mount payloads — electronics and sensors packages generally — on a commercial company’s spacecraft, so government doesn’t have to manufacture one themselves.

see: Home | Hosted Payload Alliance

No: CR-130-14 July 10, 2014 - CONTRACTS - AIR FORCE

1.      Astrium Services Government, Inc., Rockville, Maryland (FA8814-14-D-0001); 

2.      Harris Corp. Government Communications Systems BusinessUnit, Palm Bay, Florida (FA8814-14-D-0002); 

3.      Space Systems/Loral, LLC, Palo Alto, California (FA8814-14-D-0003); 

4.      Millennium Engineering & Integration Company, Arlington, Virginia (FA8814-14-D-0004); 

5.      Surrey Satellite Technology, Englewood, Colorado (FA8814-14-D-0005); 

6.      Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Virginia (FA8814-14-D-0006); 

7.      The Boeing Co., El Segundo, California (FA8814-14-D-0007); 

8.      Exoterra Resources, Littleton, Colorado (FA8814-14-D-0008); 

9.      Lockheed Martin Corp., Littleton, Colorado (FA8814-14-D-0009); 

10.  MergingExcellence and Innovation Tech, Inc., Houston, Texas (FA8814-14-D-0010); 

11.  ViviSat,LLC, Beltsville, Maryland (FA8814-14-D-0011); 

12.  IntelsatGeneral Corp., Bethesda, Maryland (FA8814-14-D-0012); 

13.  SESGovernment Solutions, McLean, Virginia (FA8814-14-D-0013); and 

14.  EutelsatAmerica Corp., Washington, District of Columbia (FA8814-14-D-0014), 

 

have each been awarded a $494,900,000 maximum firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract under the Hosted Payload Solutions (HoPS) program. 

The purpose of the multiple awarded HoPS IDIQ contract is to provide a rapid and flexible means for the government to acquire commercial hosting capabilities for government payloads. The contract is designed to create a pool of qualified vendors to meet the government's needs for various hosted payload missions.

The HoPS IDIQ scope includes procurement of hosted payload missions and procurement of hosted payload studies. Procurement of hosted payload missions includes a fully-functioning on-orbit hosted payload space and ground system for government-furnished payloads on commercial platforms. In addition to the space and ground systems, the HoPS mission will also include related on-orbit support for data transfer from the hosted payload to the government end-user(s). The HoPS studies include those study activities related to enabling hosted payloads.

This award is the result of a full and open competitive acquisition. The contract has a five-year ordering period from the date of award. Work will be performed predominantly at the contractors' locations mentioned above, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2029. A total of 19 firms were solicited and a total of 14 offers were received. This is not a multiyear contract. Fiscal 2014 research and development funds in the amount of $975,696 are being obligated at time of award. The Space and Missile Systems Center Contracting Directorate, El Segundo, California, is the contracting activity.

One company not included in the list of winners is Iridium Communications Inc., a leader in satellite services, thanks to its constellation of satellites that orbit the earth at a low enough elevation to get a full global picture. The company is in the process of launching the replacement of its existing constellation. But as Iridium CEO Matt Desch told me in May, while the government utilizes its network, it wasn’t far enough along in its payload hosting needs to take a ride on the new satellites.

So is Iridium officially left out in the cold on the program? Not necessarily. For one thing, it counts Harris Corp. and Orbital Sciences Corp. — both among the contract winners — as partners. That could provide an in on the program. Also, once Iridium is done building the latest constellation of satellites, known as Iridium NEXT, it will move ahead on the world’s first hosted payload platform, Iridium PRIME.