NextSTEP L: CIS Capability Studies II: Wideband/Phased Array/Crosslink

Solicitation Number: NNH16ZCQ001K-CIS-Appendix_L

• June 12, 2023 – Presolicitation
• July 6, 2023 – Solicitation released
• Sept. 13, 2023 — Selections announced

Solicitation Overview

NASA has released a solicitation notice under the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships-2 (Next STEP-2) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)  to seek industry-led capabilities studies to inform future communication and navigation activities.

NASA’s long-term vision is to provide for a resilient space and ground communications and navigation infrastructure in which space mission users can seamlessly “roam” between an array of space-based and ground-based networks. Initially, NASA seeks to create an interoperable architecture composed of a mixture of existing NASA assets and commercial networks and services. In the long-term, this will allow for a smooth transition to fully commercialized communications services for near-Earth users. The overarching goal is to create a reliable, robust, and cost-effective set of commercial services in which NASA is one of many customers.

The Commercialization, Innovation, and Synergies (CIS) Office’s second Capability Studies BAA seeks industry insights and innovative guidance in the following three (3) Thrust Areas:

• Wideband Satellite Communications
• Phased Array Ground Systems
• Constellation Topology Analysis

Near Space Network antennas at NASA’s White Sands Complex in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

NASA

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