NASA Awards Three Ka-Band Satellite Relay Contracts Worth Up to $1.07 Billion to Keep Current Spacecraft Connected
NASA announced at its Washington headquarters on November 4 that it has selected three companies to develop Ka-band space relay capability concepts, under Contract Release C26-016. The services are aimed at missions already in orbit that cannot modify their onboard systems or transition to non-compatible commercial services, ensuring service continuity without requiring changes to existing spacecraft.
The maximum potential values of the awards, including all future options, are $460.9 million for Viasat Inc., $340.4 million for Global Enterprise Solutions Inc., and $264.3 million for Astranis Space Technologies Corp., a combined ceiling of about $1.07 billion.
The awards, made under Appendix E of the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships-3 (NextSTEP-3) Broad Agency Announcement, are firm-fixed-price contracts that give NASA the option to provide additional funding up to the award limit to advance the work from initial concept development and risk reduction to an in-orbit flight demonstration. The initial period of performance runs from November 4, 2026, through May 3, 2027, with additional priced options to continue work through 2029. NASA said it aims to acquire end-to-end solutions covering space, ground, launch, operations, and integration elements, as one of many customers in the commercial marketplace.
The work is facilitated through the Communications Services Project of NASA's Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program and supports the agency's decision to gradually retire its Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) fleet and adopt commercial services for future missions. NASA said that, in addition to commercial capabilities already under development by the program's industry partners, Ka-band services are needed for select in-orbit missions that cannot feasibly modify flight hardware or transition to non-compatible commercial services, under its Network Extension for User Continuity and Sustainability acquisition. (Source: National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
Source: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国国家航空航天局（NASA）总部 Mary W. Jackson 大楼（Washington，联邦固定图库）。ajay_suresh 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Mary W. Jackson Building, NASA Headquarters in Washington (federal fixed asset library). Photo by ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
