LOS ANGELES AFB – EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Space Enterprise Consortium celebrates another milestone by welcoming its 300th member into its ranks. Established in November 2017, the Space Enterprise Consortium serves as the United States Air Force’s premier Other Transaction Agreement for space prototyping, a forum to rapidly develop next-generation space-related prototypes to attain the Air Force’s vision of a more capable, resilient and affordable enterprise.
Helmed by the Space and Missile Systems Center in El Segundo, California, the SpEC program enabled 42 awards worth a combined $238 million since inception, facilitating the development of 11 separate space prototype projects.
SpEC provides a streamlined process to solicit and evaluate proposals, and award prototype projects with a significant amount of flexibility—the consortium empowers users with enterprise, partnership, innovation and speed. Just two examples amongst the prototype projects that utilized SpEC are SMC’s Protected Tactical Satellite Communications for prototype efforts addressing architecture concepts, advanced antennas, space processing, and hosting satellite communications concepts; and the Hosted Payload Interface Unit project, an enterprise-enabling technology providing encryption and secure transfer of payload mission data between a Department of Defense payload and any satellite host.
The SpEC OTA also allows other Department of Defense mission partners to use the contract vehicle as a strategy to fill their requirement gaps. In addition to SMC’s own prototyping efforts, contracts have been awarded for the Missile Defense Agency’s prototype missile defense tracking system, and Air Force Research Lab’s NTS-3 satellite.
Operating under an OTA, the SpEC program reduced timelines to award prototype contracts by 43 percent over traditional contracting efforts, while broadening participation from small businesses and nontraditional partners. In addition to speedy contract awards, the SpEC program is increasing partnerships between companies operating within the space industry, and seeks to minimize barriers of entry for companies and academic institutions unfamiliar with government contracts.
By providing a venue to broadcast capabilities and interests in upcoming prototype requirements, the consortium facilitates expanded teaming opportunities for its membership. Further, the government consortium manager conducts frequent events for the consortium’s membership, ranging from webinars projecting the upcoming workload, to detailed requirements briefs, to training events tailored around specific solicitations.
Companies interested in joining the Space Enterprise Consortium can find more information about the organization, including how to join, at https://www.space-enterprise-consortium.org/.
The Space and Missile Systems Center is the U.S. Air Force's center of acquisition excellence for acquiring and developing military space systems. Its portfolio includes the development of advanced space and launch capability and systems, global positioning systems, military satellite communications, defense meteorological satellites, space launch and range systems, satellite control networks, space-based infrared systems, and space situational awareness capabilities.
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