## Q46 key (Protest That Keeps the Stay)

1. The polar-experience challenge was apparent before bids and is waived. Do not lead with or include it as a live post-award ground. Missed: the protest spends credibility on a forfeited issue.
2. Silverline learned the scoring grounds at the September 4 debriefing. Excluding that day, the ten-day merits deadline is September 14. Missed: the Board protest is filed late.
3. Ten days after the September 1 award is September 11. Five days after the September 4 debriefing is September 9. The later date, September 11, controls the automatic stay. Missed: counsel uses the shorter or wrong trigger.
4. Filing by September 11 preserves the stay; filing September 12 through 14 may preserve merits but loses the automatic stay. Missed: performance begins because a timely protest was not stay-timely.
5. An agency protest on September 10 does not trigger or toll the Board stay without a written suspension. File the Board protest first or concurrently by September 11 rather than waiting. Missed: the agency-first sequence quietly forfeits the central procedural benefit.
6. Initial grounds are unsupported credit for Atlas's unidentified sensor, failure to consider subcontractor experience as promised, and resulting best-value error given the $1.8 million premium. Seek protected access and reserve supplementation after the agency report. Missed: the initial filing lacks the known basis or overstates facts not yet available.
7. If the stay is lost, court relief requires the full injunction showing and proposal cost alone is not irreparable harm. The defensible sequence is Board filing by September 11, optional agency engagement without reliance, then court only if needed. Missed: discretionary litigation replaces an available automatic protection.