Inactive

Boulder Ground Innovation Facility (BGIF) Operations Support Services (BOSS) Sources Sought THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY. This Sources Sought is issued solely for information and plannin... Boulder Ground Innovation Facility (BGIF) Operations Support Services (BOSS) Sources Sought THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY. This Sources Sought is issued solely for information and planning purposes. It does not constitute a solicitation (Request for Proposal or Request for Quotations) or a promise to issue a solicitation in the future. This Sources Sought does not commit the USSF to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Furthermore, the USSF is not, at this time, seeking proposals. Responders are advised that the USSF will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this Sources Sought. The Government will not assume liability for costs incurred by any attendee for travel expenses or marketing efforts. All costs associated with responding to this Sources Sought will be solely at the responding party's expense. All information received in response to this Sources Sought that is marked PROPRIETARY will be handled accordingly. The USSF shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable USSF regulations. PURPOSE The United States Space Force (USSF), Space Systems Command, Space Sensing Directorate (SSC/SN) located at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is seeking information in the form of Statements of Capabilities (SOC) from interested parties in support of the SSC/ Data Exploitation and Tools, Applications, and Processing Laboratory (TAP Lab) (SSC/SNGT), activities and facilities requirements described below. Currently, the Government anticipates that the contractor may need a workforce of approximately 55 personnel across two facilities with utilization of telework and hot-desk rotation due to limited office spaces, based on historical workforce data, but is requesting feedback from industry if there are reasons to have a larger or smaller workforce. The estimated award date will be No Later Than (NLT) December 2025. The Government expects to release the draft solicitation No Earlier Than (NET) 15 November 2024. The Government anticipates a base contract of 2 years, with three 1-year options, and one 6-month option. The purpose of this notice is to identify potential sources that can meet SSC/SNGT’s requirement, especially small businesses. The Government reserves the right to set this acquisition, or portions thereof, aside for small businesses or by small business socioeconomic status. This Sources Sought is unrestricted and encourages responses from all responsible contractors independent of size. SMALL BUSINESS CONSIDERATION The NAICS code for this project is 541715 “Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology).” The Small Business size standard is 1,250 employees. Participation from small and small disadvantaged businesses is highly encouraged. Firms responding should indicate if their size (small or large business) and socioeconomic status (i.e., 8(a), SDB, HUBZone, SDVOSB, EDWOSB, WOSB, etc.) under the above referenced NAICS and size standard. BACKGROUND & DESCRIPTION SSC/SN is charged with developing and deploying Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) and environmental monitoring (weather) space systems, along with their associated ground support systems, to meet the needs of Department of Defense (DoD) operational elements and other national security stakeholders. The current operational DoD OPIR space architecture centers on the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) constellation. The DoD is developing and fielding a robust, resilient OPIR architecture that features numerous satellites and sensors (i.e., proliferated architectures) in a wider array of orbital regimes including, for the first time, Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). In addition, the DoD is broadening its OPIR mission focus from the traditional strategic Missile Warning (MW) mission with new emphasis on Missile Tracking (MT), Missile Defense (MD), Battlespace Awareness (BA) and Technical Intelligence (TI) to address emerging threats such as hypersonic missiles, dim and short duration targets. SSC/SN is delivering the Future Operationally Resilient Ground Enterprise (FORGE) framework and applications to replace legacy OPIR ground systems. FORGE is designed to provide an open framework, enhanced cyber capabilities and scalability in a Government-owned baseline. It is expected that by the time of contract award the FORGE Mission Data Processing Application Framework (MDPAF) will be the OPIR TAP Lab’s primary framework to conduct Research and Development. The BOSS contract is the follow on to contract #FA8810-20-C-0002, called TAP Lab and OBAC Support Services (TLOSS). TLOSS was awarded 1 Jan 2021 to a small business, which was later acquired by The Parsons Corporation (large business), whose current period of performance is expected to end December 2025. TLOSS is primarily focused on the OPIR TAP Lab’s Data Exploitation capabilities in service of OPIR Battlespace Awareness Center (OBAC) operators. The BOSS contract will be designed to support the next iteration of SSC/SNGT requirements, with a focus on ongoing OPIR TAP Lab Data Exploitation work, an increased level of facility reliability at the Boulder Ground Innovation Facility (BGIF) to support “near-operational” tenant programs, and a reduced, but persistent, footprint in the OBAC at Buckley Space Force Base (SFB), Colorado. SSC/SN is seeking to identify qualified contractors to provide support for critical activities in three areas all managed by a single SSC/SNGT Government customer: - First, OPIR TAP Lab at Boulder, CO is a Government led organization with primary mission to perform Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) exploring, developing, advancing, testing and deploying innovative data exploitation and processing technologies, capabilities and software applications to customers in support of the mission areas identified above. The goal of the TAP Lab’s RDT&E activities is to enhance capabilities associated with space-based OPIR and environmental sensing, as well as tackling tough challenges such as those associated with proliferated sensors constellations, the integration of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) technologies into mission processing chains and developing novel methods such as process automation to deal with increasing human resource/space operator constraints. This mission includes identifying and advancing technologies such as, but not limited to, AI/ML, multi-source data fusion, data analytics, digitalization of user processes and development of collaboration technology for use in classified environments. The OPIR TAP Lab has access to live and archived data from multiple OPIR and environmental sensors and owns a non-proprietary software framework which is used to host both the mission data and applications developed by other contracted vendors. The Government expects that by the time of contract award, FORGE MDPAF will have replaced the current TAP Lab software open framework or be in the process of replacing it. The Government requires the future BOSS contractor to provide support services in the following areas for the activities described above (listed in order of priority): cybersecurity, systems engineering, architecture engineering, integration, capability deployment, and software development services. - Second, BGIF is the Government-controlled, Government-operated facility in Boulder, CO. The SSC/SNGT Government team manages the BGIF as well as the OPIR TAP Lab. BGIF provides the facility space and facility infrastructure the OPIR TAP Lab uses to execute its RDT&E mission, i.e., OPIR TAP Lab is a BGIF tenant. BGIF also hosts other SSC/SN tenant programs that execute development, test, and operational type activities. Other BGIF tenant programs currently include: the FORGE ground system, Next Generation GEO (NGG) including NGG Interim Operations Center (NICC) and Resilient MW/MT Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) including MEO spacecraft operations center (MSOC). The prime contractor for the BOSS contract will be required to sub-lease the BGIF facility spaces from another industry partner who holds the primary lease contract with the building owner. The BOSS contractor is anticipated to have the same sub-lease requirement as the TLOSS prime contractor. The Government requires the future BOSS contractor to provide BGIF support services in the following areas for the activities described above (listed in order of priority): facility sub-lease, facility security, facility maintenance (power/HVAC), tenant program integration logistics, and facility engineering. The BOSS contactor will provide these facility support services to the BGIF and OPIR TAP Lab tenant. The BOSS contractor will not be required to provide services listed in the first section (e.g., cybersecurity, systems engineering, etc.) to other BGIF tenant programs. - Third, SSC/SNGT supports specific capabilities at the OBAC intelligence and space operations facility within the SBIRS Mission Control Station (MCS) at Buckley SFB, CO. These capabilities include a special data analysis function named the Technical Analysis Cell (TAC) and deployment of OPIR TAP Lab created capabilities to the 11th Space Warning Squadron (11 SWS) and 26th Intelligence Squadron (26 IS). The Government requires the future BOSS contractor to provide support services in the following areas for the activities described above (listed in order of priority): system engineering, operations support, technical refresh, procurement and management of hardware. Note: The OBAC support services described in this paragraph represent less than 5% of the potential overall requirement within the BOSS contract. SUBMISSION DETAILS In response to this Sources Sought, interested responders shall provide a submission that adheres to the following format, any excessive pages above the maximum will not be reviewed: Front matter (3-page maximum): Includes matter such as a transmittal letter, cover page, and table of contents. The Government will not accept company literature or marketing materials in response to this Sources Sought. Front matter shall include the following elements: Company name (inclusive of Cage Code and Unique Identifier) Your company’s ownership and other relevant information Personnel/Business size classification (Small/Large Business, HUBzone, veteran-owned, woman-owned, etc.) Status of an approved Cost Accounting system Mailing address Points of Contact (POCs) name, e-mail, and telephone numbers Requirement Feedback (1-page maximum): Responses shall not exceed one (1) page for the requirement feedback volume. Page size shall be 8.5 x 11 inches; single spaced with text no smaller than 10-point font size. Margins shall be one-inch on all sides. Details on content included in following sections. Statement of Capabilities (SOC) (10-page maximum): Responses shall not exceed ten (10) pages for the SOC volume. Page size shall be 8.5 x 11 inches; single-spaced with text no smaller than 10-point font size; smaller type may be used in figures and tables as long as it is clearly legible. Margins shall be one-inch on all sides. Details on content included in following sections. REQUIREMENT FEEDBACK RESPONSE CONTENT In this Sources Sought, SSC/SN is not only seeking sources (qualified contractors), but also requesting industry feedback on the following contemplated elements of the developing acquisition strategy: Anticipated Period of Performance: 2-year base contract, with three 1-year options, and one 6-month option; Provide feedback on the structure of the anticipated period of performance. Anticipated Contract Type: Cost Plus Award Fee (CPAF). Provide feedback on a CPAF contract structure. Include suggestions on what award fee percentage categories and/or criteria could be considered. STATEMENT OF CAPABILITY (SOC) RESPONSE CONTENT SOC Classification: Respondents shall provide an unclassified response to this Sources Sought. Respondents shall indicate whether their responses contain Proprietary information, and if the Respondents wish for the responses to be handled as such. The Government will not accept company literature or marketing materials in response to this Sources Sought. The SOC must include the following information: Capability to fully satisfy the Government's requirements described in the attached draft PWS. If a responder lacks the past experience or current capability to perform any element of the work, the responder will indicate how that capability will be provided (e.g., subcontracting to a firm that has the experience/current capability, new hires of personnel who would perform the work). OPIR Experience: Provide a summary of your company’s work history in the DoD and National Security OPIR enterprise, including experience in system engineering, architecture planning, integration of new systems into operational facilities and interface with DoD, Intelligence Community (IC) and other end users. This expertise should focus on the ground segments of OPIR space-based systems related, but not limited to data links, data processing, conversion of OPIR data into messages for the DoD, Intelligence Community (IC) and other end users. Cybersecurity. Identify approaches your company uses to retain qualified cybersecurity professionals in a competitive job market, and/or to mitigate experience loss due to frequent attrition. Describe your company’s experience analyzing IT systems against DoD cyber requirements, developing accreditation packages using the DoD Risk Management Framework (RMF) in both eMASS and Xacta platforms, and maintaining cognizance of cyber requirements and industry trends to maintain cyber accreditation of systems. Facility maintenance: Describe experience maintaining and operating facility infrastructure (e.g., power, HVAC, physical security) to support uninterruptible 24/7 missions. Include information as to the agility of your procurement system and its ability to respond to real time needs in “off” hours, or identify valid work arounds. Integration of advanced technologies: Describe your company’s experience assessing, recommending and implementing tools such as AI/ML, data analytics, automation and digitization for use in operational environments, especially classified environments. Include your approach to define the required supporting architecture (i.e. on-prem hardware/software compute, storage and other capabilities or the cloud based equivalent). Subcontracting and small business. Describe your company's approach to allowing personnel to work in integrated product teams alongside government civilian, military, Advisory and Assistance (A&AS), Federally Funded Research and Development Corporations (FFRDC) and other industry contractors. Please provide information on expected percentage of effort to be subcontracted, effort to be subcontracted, and the subcontractor's capabilities/potential teaming opportunities Please provide information on any work performed by small businesses Describe your companies approach to Organizational Conflict of Interests (OCI) as it applied to your company having access to competitors' software and system hardware information. How does your company ensure that information is firewalled and only accessible to personnel with need to know. Whether responder has readily cleared TS/SCI personnel to staff key program/technical positions (Government estimates approximately one-third of contract staff will require TS/SCI clearance; remainder require Secret) Responses shall be electronically submitted no later than 09 September 2024, by 5:00 PM Pacific Standard Time (PST) to the Primary POC and Technical POCs listed. All communications and questions associated with this sources sought shall be submitted in writing to both the Government Primary Point of Contact (POC) and Technical POC listed below. Responses sent to the Government POCs shall be titled “BOSS Sources Sought Response: [Company Name]”. Any unclassified/non-proprietary questions sent to Government POCs during the Sources Sought period will be answered at the Government’s discretion, consolidated, and published to SAM.gov on a non-attributional basis. Monitor SAM.gov for updates. The following companies/organizations may review the submitted SOCs: The Aerospace Corporation, Stellar Solutions, and Tecolote Research -- all are bound by appropriate non-disclosure agreements with the USSF. For further information regarding these agreements, contact the Government Primary Point of Contact identified in this posting. Government Primary Point of Contact: Mr. Casey E. Watson, Contract Specialist, email: casey.watson.5@spaceforce.mil Government Technical Point of Contact: Lt Amy Y. Kang, Project Manager, email: amy.kang.2@spaceforce.mil Contracting Office Address: 483 North Aviation Blvd El Segundo, California 90245-2808 Place of Performance: 6304 Spine Road, Boulder, CO 80301, United States and Mission Control Station/OBAC, Bldg. 442, 18302 E. Crested Butte Avenue, Stop #69, Buckley SFB, Aurora, CO 80011, United States