WASHINGTON -
Chicago-based PlanetSpace has filed a protest against NASA's decision to award
space station resupply contracts valued at $3.5 billion to two other firms, one
of which earned the lowest score for a bid that proposed the highest price.
The protest
was filed with the U.S. Government Accountability (GAO) Office Jan. 14.
The GAO is required to issue its ruling by April 24.
PlanetSpace,
a start-up company whose subcontractors include Boeing Co. of Chicago,
Denver-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Minneapolis-based Alliant
Techsystems (ATK), earned a higher score and offered a lower price than Orbital
Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va.
NASA,
however, selected Orbital Sciences and Hawthorne, Calif.-based Space
Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) to haul 20 tons of cargo to the space
station through 2016 under separate contracts potentially worth $3.1 billion
each. The
initial award calls for SpaceX to provide 12 flights for $1.6 billion and
Orbital Sciences to provide eight flights for $1.9 billion.
SpaceX earned
the highest score from NASA's Source Evaluation Board and offered the
lowest price, followed by PlanetSpace which earned the second-highest score.
PlanetSpace
"received a higher Mission Suitability score, from NASA's Source
Evaluation Board (SEB), and was lower in Cost than one of the two proposals
selected by NASA. Thus, the PlanetSpace proposal represented better value to
the Government. We believe that the GAO will find that flaws in the procurement
justify award to PlanetSpace. We look forward to the GAO's review of this
case," PlanetSpace officials said in a Jan. 15 press release announcing
the protest.
According
to source selection documents, Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate
administrator for space operations, believed PlanetSpace relied too heavily on
its subcontractors. He also expressed concern that the firm proposed using an
existing rocket to provide initial cargo delivery before switching to the
Athena 3 solid-fueled rocket ATK proposed to build in time to enter service in
2013.
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