Protection of the space industrial base

(a) Finding Congress finds that robust competition in the space industrial base is essential to assuring United States space superiority and the ability of the United States Space Force to provide national security mission-critical space warfighting systems and operations across the joint force. (b) Requirement To maximize competition Chapter 382 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 4821. Preservation of space industrial base (a) In general The head of an agency shall, to the maximum extent practicable— (1) ensure that space acquisitions employ procedures that maximize competition; (2) ensure that mission-critical national security space-based systems that deliver tactical data from low Earth orbit within a program and across the Armed Forces shall be procured from an open competition allowing for competition between multiple vendors, and those vendors’ products shall comply with interfaces and standards that maximize resilience and interoperability with Department of Defense systems; and (3) ensure that a contract or other agreement for a mission-critical space-based tactical data delivery system acquired or contracted as-a-service must require the performance, cost, and speed of delivery of the capability to be demonstrably competitive to any existing program currently delivering that capability which it seeks to replace or substitute, and use reasonable best efforts to avoid the as-a-service contract if the agency head believes in good faith that it will result in a major contraction in the space an industrial base available to support the Department of Defense. (b) Implementation The head of an agency shall, to the maximum extent possible, ensure that acquisition, contracting, and other procurement officials develop guidance— (1) to achieve and act in accordance with the requirements of subsection (a) and with the intent to deliver mission-critical space-based tactical data delivery systems in accordance with government standards and interfaces; and (2) to prevent the major reduction and consolidation of the space industrial base..