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Appendix O: Capability Studies for NASA Communications and Navigation Network Direct-to-Earth (DTE) and Lunar Space Relay (LSR) Commercialization Services

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NASA

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Garrett Shea

Mar 29, 2022
Article

Solicitation Number: NNH16ZCQ001K-CIS

March 14, 2022 – Presolicitation
March 29, 2022 – Solicitation Released
April 12, 2022 – Amendment Published
May 5, 2022 – Amendment 02 Published
May 27, 2022 – Proposals Due
Oct 11, 2022 – Source Selection Statement Posted | Press Release

Solicitation Overview

Artist's concept of a Tracking and Data Relay (TDRS) satellite in orbit around the Earth.
Artist’s concept of a Tracking and Data Relay (TDRS) satellite in orbit around the Earth. TDRS have long provided robust communications services to near-Earth NASA missions. By 2030, NASA hopes to transition near-Earth services from government-owned assets like TDRS to commercial communications infrastructure. Credits: NASA

NASA released a solicitation under the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships-2 (NextSTEP-2) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) to seek industry led capability studies to explore and demonstrate future enhancements and innovative communication capabilities needed for NASA’s communication and navigation missions. These studies and demonstrations are intended to inform NASA and its stakeholders on industry’s telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) capabilities and future innovations and concepts that would enable a commercial TT&C marketplace where NASA is one of many customers. The primary objectives of the upcoming Appendix O to the NextSTEP-2 BAA are as follows: (1) understand innovations and advancements in Radio Frequency (RF) compatibility testing that will lead to efficiencies of Near Space Network radio frequency architectures; (2) address industry best practices, tools, and capabilities related to mission planning and scheduling; (3) understand the barriers, challenges, and solutions associated with integration of optical communications ground terminals into the Near Space Network architecture; and (4) understand innovations and advancements in implementation of software defined radios and cloud computing assets into the Near Space Network architecture.