Silverline should file a Board protest immediately. The automatic-stay deadline is **September 11, 2027**—not the Board merits deadline of **September 14, 2027**.

## Ordered Protest Plan

### 1. Waived solicitation ground

The five-year polar-region experience requirement is **waived**.

- It was an obvious, disclosed solicitation term before the bid deadline.
- Silverline submitted a proposal anyway without protesting it.
- The debriefing does **not** revive that ground.
- **Do not include** “the requirement was unnecessarily restrictive” in the Board protest or court filings.

### 2. Date Silverline knew the post-award grounds

Silverline first learned the post-award grounds at the **required debriefing on Saturday, September 4, 2027**, and received the written slides that same day.

So the day of knowledge is **September 4, 2027**.

### 3. Ten-calendar-day Board merits deadline

Exclude September 4 and count ten calendar days:

- Sept. 5 = day 1  
- Sept. 14 = day 10  

**Board merits deadline: September 14, 2027.**

A filing after September 14 is likely untimely.

### 4. Two automatic-stay calculations

| Trigger | Calculation | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Award notice: Sept. 1 | Exclude Sept. 1; 10th calendar day is Sept. 11 | **Sept. 11** |
| Debriefing: Sept. 4 | Exclude Sept. 4; 5th calendar day is Sept. 9 | **Sept. 9** |

The automatic stay uses the **later** of the two dates:

**Controlling automatic-stay deadline: September 11, 2027.**

Because the Board is open on all relevant dates, there is no next-open-day extension.

### 5. Last filing date preserving the automatic stay

**September 11, 2027** is the last date the Board can receive a protest and trigger the automatic stay.

If Silverline files after September 11 but by September 14, the protest may still be timely on the merits, but **performance continues** unless the Board or a court grants discretionary relief.

### 6. Why the proposed agency-first sequence does not protect the stay

The proposed sequence—file an agency protest on September 10 and wait for the agency answer before going to the Board—**does not preserve the automatic stay**.

- An agency-level protest does **not** trigger the Board’s automatic stay.
- An agency-level protest does **not** toll the Board deadlines.
- The agency has made **no written commitment to suspend performance**.
- Waiting for the agency answer means the Board will not receive a protest by **September 11**.

It may also forfeit the merits deadline if the agency answer comes after **September 14**.

### 7. Grounds to include in the initial Board protest

Include all three post-award grounds, but not the waived solicitation ground:

1. **Unstated evaluation basis for Atlas’s sensor-resolution score**  
   The agency credited Atlas using a model Atlas did not identify in its proposal. That appears to rely on an unstated evaluation criterion or information outside the proposal.

2. **Failure to consider subcontractor experience as promised**  
   The solicitation stated relevant subcontractor experience “will be considered,” yet the agency treated Silverline’s subcontractor experience as worth zero. That is an alleged failure to evaluate in accordance with the solicitation.

3. **Unsupported best-value tradeoff**  
   Atlas’s evaluated price was $1.8 million higher, but the agency selected Atlas based on the disputed technical scoring. If the technical scoring is corrected, the price-technical tradeoff may no longer be rational.

Also include:

- Requested relief: set aside award, reevaluate proposals, conduct a new source-selection decision, and stay performance pending review.
- A statement that Silverline reserves the right to supplement after receiving the agency report.

### 8. Protected-record access and supplementation

The initial Board protest **must** request protected access to procurement records. Silverline should request access to:

- Atlas’s proposal,
- evaluation records and scoring model,
- the source-selection document,
- the price/technical tradeoff documentation,
- and any other evaluation materials.

Later supplementation is allowed for **facts first learned from the agency report**, but Silverline must include all currently known grounds now. Do not wait for the agency report to state the known grounds.

### 9. Court relief if the automatic stay is lost

If the automatic stay is lost, filing in court does **not** create an automatic stay. Silverline would need to seek a **temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction** before transition work begins on September 13.

The court standard is:

- likely success on the merits,
- irreparable harm,
- balance of harms,
- and public interest.

For irreparable harm, proposal preparation costs alone are insufficient. Silverline should emphasize:

- loss of a fair opportunity to compete,
- loss of the chance to receive award, and
- the fact that transition and performance will make meaningful corrective competition significantly harder.

The public interest favors preserving a lawful, competitive procurement process.

### 10. Exact filing sequence Silverline should use

**Do this now, not agency-first:**

1. **Immediately,** file the Board protest—no later than September 11, and preferably today or by September 10.
2. Include all three post-award grounds, requested relief, and the protected-record-access request.
3. Confirm the Board **receives** the protest by September 11. Use a filing method that produces proof of receipt.
4. If an agency-level protest is still desired, file it **after** the Board protest and do **not** wait for its answer.
5. After the agency report is produced, promptly supplement with any facts first learned from that report.
6. If the automatic stay is lost or ignored, seek court injunctive relief before September 13.

The key takeaway: **the Board protest must be received by September 11, 2027, to preserve the automatic stay.** Silverline should file it now and should not wait for the agency.