Small business finds open door at Space Systems Command

  • Published
  • By Brad Smith, SSC Public Affairs
As the primary acquisition hub of the U.S. Space Force, Space Systems Command (SSC) is charged with delivering capabilities to counter the ever-evolving threat to U.S. and allied interests in space.

A significant element of delivering those capabilities is a wide-range of partnerships with U.S. and international firms, ranging from huge companies that are household names to non-traditional small businesses that may have never worked in the aerospace and defense sector – which is where the Command’s support for small and mid-sized partners come into play.

“The connections that we make through all our commercial partnerships are critical to achieving our goals with great power competition,” said USSF Capt. Cliff Cooke who, as program manager of  SSC’s Space Enterprise Consortium, works closely with small businesses, including those who may not have previously done work for the government. “It's not just about efficient practices and accelerating technology. It's about cultivating non-traditional partnerships that echo into the future. Our competitive advantage relies on these relationships, which are foundational for our technological growth.”

SSC manages a $15.6 billion space acquisition budget for the Department of Defense (DoD) to accelerate innovation, and SSC’s staff supports a variety of initiatives designed to assist commercial partners in their efforts to do business with the government, including some efforts led directly by SSC and others that are partnerships: In a field where the DoD has decades of contracting experience and institutional knowledge – including simply understanding the universe of acronyms and jargon to be expected in any technical arena - each effort has its own area of focus (see links and details below).

“Pursuing Department of Defense contracts requires patience, persistence, and an in-depth understanding of federal acquisition rules. We are here to help,” said Aaron Parra, director of small business programs at Space Systems Command. “This year, we’re very proud to say, we are on track to hit every single one of our small business goals, with record high dollars awards to small businesses in four out of five categories.”

The teams all focus on bridging the gap between business and the DoD, including whether the commercial partner is bidding under the standard Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) system and the related Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), or the OT (Other Transactions) agreements, a more flexible practice created for use in limited circumstances.

The level of assistance varies from program to program, but the small business focus and the ability to use OT agreements (often referred to as OTAs), has made a difference for more than one company, officials said.

“We like to participate and see the various opportunities under the OTA, which for a small company, it's much easier to navigate than the FARS-based contracts,” said Tim Deaver, an executive with Hawthorne, CA-based Mynaric USA, which builds laser communications equipment. “It's easier to execute (on a contract) since you get more flexibility, so it makes it a lot easier to do business.”

Participation in the informational efforts, like SpEC, often leads companies to bid on contracts across the U.S. federal space environment, including military, science, and civil projects, executives said.

“For a long time, it was sort of just a way for us to understand what was going on in industry and be informed,” said Brad Cheetham, chief executive officer of Advanced Space, in Colorado, which manages the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) project for NASA and the similar Oracle project for the DoD. “Then, a couple of years ago, we were very excited to be able to participate as a bidder and that led to our award as the prime contractor in what is now called the Oracle program for Air Force.”

The opportunities for small business run the gamut from operational spacecraft to ground systems and general services, officials said.

“One of the things that we competed on earlier this year was the National Space Test Training Range effort,” said Tessa Baerlocher, a vice president with Virginia-based Linquest Corp. “That was a fantastic opportunity for our company; it was really well run and allowed us to bring new ideas forward to the Space Force.”

Those are exactly the sorts of success stories SSC’s small business and commercial partnerships are designed to create, officers said.

“Government equally benefits by having access to the best and most innovative technologies available, from the earliest prototyping stages to market-ready, dual-use models,” said Col. Rich Kniseley, the senior materiel leader of SSC’s Commercial Space Office. “Our system makes sure these ground-breaking concepts aren’t lost due to companies not knowing how to find the right end user or their inability to secure funding.”
 
Looking to work with Space Systems Command or other DoD Organizations? Check out these resources:
  • Space Systems Command Commercial Space Office
    The Commercial Space Office (COMSO) is responsible for accelerating commercial partnerships to deliver fight tonight capabilities aligned with warfighter needs.
     
  • Space Systems Command Small Business Office
    The Small Business Office works specifically with small business owners who are interested in contracting opportunities with Space Systems Command.
     
  • Space Systems Command Front Door
    The Front Door effort exists to help early-stage start-ups and innovative commercial enterprises explore opportunities to collaborate with the United States Space Force (USSF).
     
  • The Space Enterprise Consortium
    The Space Enterprise Consortium, or SpEC, was created in 2017 through what was then the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, today’s SSC, at Los Angeles Air Force Base (LAAFB).
     
  • Space Industry Days
    Space Industry Days, and Reverse Industry Day events, provide industry an opportunity to receive presentations from USAF, USSF, and SSC’s senior leadership on current and emerging opportunities.
 
Helpful Terminology
The OT (Other Transactions) concept allows a federal agency to use statutory authority to seek  three different types of OT agreements with a supplier: Research, Prototype, and Production. Research OTs are intended to spur dual-use research and development (R&D), taking advantage of economies of scale without burdening companies with Government regulatory overhead, which would make them non- competitive in the commercial (non-defense) sector. Prototype OTs offer a streamlined method for transitioning into follow-on production without further competition, while Production OTs are authorized as follow-on OTs to a Prototype OT agreement that was competitively awarded and successfully completed.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a U.S. government funding program intended to help small businesses conduct R&D. These opportunities include a competitive, three-phased process to solicit proposals from small business concerns (SBCs) for research/research and development (R/R&D), production, services, or any combination to meet stated agency needs or missions; and to award funding agreements.

The Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program is similar, but also fosters technology transfer through cooperative R&D between small businesses and research institutions, including colleges/universities, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), or qualified non-profit research institutions on cooperative R/R&D.