MIAMI, Fla. — The U.S. Office of Space Commerce (OSC) remains confident it can roll out its next-generation space traffic coordination platform this year, despite a contract bid protest from competitor Kayhan Space.
Kayhan lodged its protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in December, triggering a 100-day work stoppage under the 12-month contract OSC awarded its competitor Slingshot Aerospace in November for designing the platform’s user interface.
“It stinks that we have a delay, but this is how the U.S. government is supposed to support commercial,” OSC acting director Janice Starzyk said Jan. 22 during the Space Foundation’s inaugural Finance Forum here.
The $5.3 million contract includes options for four additional years, bringing its total potential value to $13.3 million.
OSC had planned to launch TraCSS.gov — the primary interface for the Traffic Coordination System for Space initiative — before Sept. 30, the end of the federal fiscal year.
Space-Track.org users would be transitioned to the new platform, which is a cornerstone of efforts to modernize U.S. space traffic management and improve the safety and sustainability of civil and commercial satellite operations.
Kayhan, Slingshot and several other companies also hold separate contracts to support TraCSS by providing situational awareness data and other services.
The GAO is due to resolve Kayhan’s allegations March 20.
Starzyk and Slingshot declined to comment further on the matter at the conference.
Kayhan co-founder and chief technology officer Araz Feyzi said in an email that the company filed its protest to “address issues identified in evaluating proposals and contract award decisions” made by OSC, but did not provide specifics.
“We at Kayhan Space remain hopeful that the GAO will address these issues to ensure fair competition and compliance with applicable public procurement laws and regulations,” Feyzi said.
