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SN Military.Space Sandra Erwin

Maxar Technologies’ SSL, Sierra Nevada Corp. and Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems were selected to compete for future small satellite development contracts that could be worth up to $750 million.

The contracts were awarded last month by NASA Ames Research Center. The three companies will form a pool of prequalified candidates that will compete under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract called Small Spacecraft Prototyping Engineering Development and Integration – Space Solutions.

The program will help the military’s Space Rapid Capabilities Office expedite the procurement of commercially developed small to medium spacecraft. Each company will be eligible to compete for multiple future awards over five years.

“The SSPEDI SpS IDIQ contract will provide specific elements of work, defined in distinct task orders, in support of the Department of Defense’s Space Rapid Capabilities Office,” the contract announcement said. The work includes spacecraft, payloads, buses, spacecraft subsystems, software, components, and ground systems.

The minimum amount that may be ordered in each contract is $100,000, and the maximum amount for each contract is $750 million.


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Sandra Erwin writes about military space programs, policy, technology and the industry that supports this sector. She has covered the military, the Pentagon, Congress and the defense industry for nearly two decades as editor of NDIA’s National Defense...