NASA Announces Ka-Band Satellite Relay Awards for Space Communications
NASA selected three companies on Wednesday to develop Ka-band space relay capability concepts that work with existing missions in space, allowing current spacecraft to maintain service continuity without modifications to their onboard systems.
NASA
NASA on Wednesday selected three companies to develop Ka-band space relay capability concepts that are compatible with current missions in space. The work is intended to ensure service continuity for existing spacecraft without requiring modifications to their onboard systems.
Through these awards, NASA aims to acquire end-to-end solutions that include space, ground, launch, operations, and integration elements, with the agency serving as one of many customers in the commercial marketplace.
The awards fall under the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships-3 Broad Agency Announcement Appendix E. The contracts are firm-fixed-price awards that give NASA the option to provide additional funding up to an award limit to advance work from initial concept development and risk reduction to an in-orbit flight demonstration.
The initial period of performance runs from Nov. 4 through May 3, 2027, with additional priced options allowing work to continue through 2029. NASA stated that the maximum potential contract value for each awardee includes all future options, though the agency did not disclose those figures in its announcement.
The effort is facilitated through the agency's SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) program's Communications Services Project. It supports NASA's decision to gradually retire the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite fleet and adopt commercial services for future missions.
Ka-band services are needed to support select in-orbit missions that cannot feasibly modify flight hardware or transition to non-compatible commercial services, NASA said. These spacecraft will otherwise lose access to relay communications as the existing Tracking and Data Relay Satellite fleet winds down.
In addition to the commercial capabilities currently under development by the SCaN program's industry partners, the new Ka-band relay concepts are intended to close the gap for missions whose hardware cannot be changed.
NASA said additional information about its Network Extension for User Continuity and Sustainability Ka-band service acquisition is available on the agency's website. Contacts for the announcement are Jennifer Dooren and Jessica Taveau at NASA Headquarters in Washington.