Latest news with #Tyvak
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Space Development Agency director reinstated after three-month review
The Space Force will reinstate Space Development Agency Derek Tournear this week after an investigation into past contracting practices involving the agency's proliferated satellite constellation, officials said. Tournear, who has been on administrative leave since mid-January, will resume his duties as SDA director April 17, according to an Air Force spokesperson. William Blauser, deputy director of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, had been serving as the agency's acting director. The spokesperson did not provide further details on the outcome of the investigation, but said 'the matter was addressed through established civilian personnel processes.' Meanwhile, the Pentagon launched a separate review of SDA's organizational culture. The Air Force spokesperson told Defense News that review is being finalized, and once complete, Tournear will take the lead on implementing any recommendations. SDA was created in 2019 as a standalone acquisition organization within the Space Force. The agency's task has been to quickly field a constellation of hundreds of advanced missile-tracking and data transport satellites in low Earth orbit, about 1,200 miles above the Earth's surface. Its approach, under Tournear's leadership, has been to iteratively field capability in batches, also known as tranches, taking available technology and upgrading it every two years or so. The contracting practices under investigation involved a contract awarded last August to Tyvak, a small satellite provider and Lockheed Martin subsidiary. Tyvak received $254 million and York Space Systems $170 million to each build and operate 10 prototype satellites to demonstrate advanced tactical satellite communications. The following month, Viasat, one of the losing bidders, filed a protest with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, alleging SDA did not fairly consider its proposal and that other firms were given an unfair advantage in the process. As part of an internal review, the Air Force determined that an SDA official violated the Procurement Integrity Act in its communication with Tyvak and other contractors, and in February, SDA said it would recompete the firm's contract but leave York's intact.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Space Development Agency to re-bid contentious prototype contract
The Space Development Agency will recompete a contract awarded last year to Tyvak, a small satellite manufacturer, following a lawsuit claiming the agency violated procurement rules. Last August, SDA awarded contracts to Tyvak and York Space Systems to develop prototype satellites to demonstrate advanced tactical satellite communication capabilities that could inform future technology development within the agency. Tyvak received $254 million and York $170 million to build and operate 10 satellites each. The next month, Viasat, one of the losing bidders, filed a protest with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims alleging SDA did not fairly consider its proposal and that other firms were given an unfair advantage in the process. As part of an internal review, the Air Force determined that an SDA official violated the Procurement Integrity Act in its communication with Tyvak and other contractors, and in an update filed Feb. 14, SDA said it would re-compete the firm's contract but leave York's intact. Tyvak, a subsidiary of Terran Orbital that is now owned by Lockheed Martin, has been under a stop work order since mid-December, an SDA spokesperson told Defense News. York's work, however, has not been disrupted. SDA declined to provide details on the schedule for awarding a new contract and said a solicitation will be released soon. According to the court documents, the competition will be managed by personnel not involved in the original awards. The court filings note that re-opening competition for the effort could have implications for SDA's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, a constellation that will include hundreds of data-transport and missile-tracking satellites. Because the prototypes are meant to inform future technology for that constellation, a delay to their delivery could be a setback for the effort. An SDA spokesperson refused to elaborate on the impact of the delay. The documents claim that an SDA procurement official influenced the source selection by revealing to one of the competing contractors that its bid was the second highest the agency received and wouldn't be selected. The official also instructed Tyvak to partner with an unnamed contractor and conveyed 'expectations regarding their proposal pricing.' The Air Force in its review called the communication 'prejudicial.' Following the review, the service placed then-Space Development Agency Director Derek Tournear on administrative leave, and on Jan. 16 appointed Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, who leads Space Systems Command, as acting director. Garrant has since been replaced by William Blauser, who is now leading SDA in an acting capacity. The Air Force's inspector general, meanwhile, is investigating Tournear, and the Pentagon's acquisition executive Steven Morani has directed the Air Force to establish an independent review team to evaluate SDA's performance, organizational structure and acquisition approach.
