SDA Releases Six Small Business Opportunities
Response Date: March 31, 2021
SDA is issuing six Small Business Opportunities (SBO) under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, inviting submissions of innovative research proposals supporting the advancement of the National Defense Space Architecture. These six SBOs are issued under the SDA Broad Agency Announcement for SBIR/STTR, HQ085021S0001. The opportunities open under pre-release rules on February 12, with proposal submissions accepted from March 2, 2021 through March 31, 2021.
Technical focus areas include:
- Free-Space Optical Communication (FSOC) Technology for Optical Intersatellite Links (OISLs) (SBIR)
- L-Band Multiband/Interleaved Electronically Scanned Array (ESA) Antenna (SBIR)
- Mesh Network NSA Certifiable Cryptographic Solution (SBIR/STTR)
- Advanced Space Mesh Networking (SBIR/STTR)
All proposals in response to these technical areas must be submitted in accordance with the instructions provided under HQ085021S0001, found here.
SDA Releases Updated Systems, Technologies, and Emerging Capabilities (STEC) Broad Agency Announcement
Response Date: January 24, 2022
Through this updated STEC Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), SDA is soliciting executive summaries, white papers/abstracts, and full proposals for novel architecture concepts, systems, technologies, and capabilities that enable leap-ahead improvements for future tranches of currently planned National Defense Space Architecture capability layers. SDA is also interested in ideas to enable new capability layers that address other emerging or evolving warfighter needs in the future.
SDA is seeking architecture studies, concepts of operations (CONOPS), modeling and simulation, system designs, key technologies, and/or risk reduction prototypes that are responsive to the following topic areas:
- Real-Time Global Awareness and Connectivity
- Comprehensive Space-Based Sensing
- Omniscient Command, Control, and Execution
Please see the BAA for details and submission instructions.
SDA Releases Broad Agency Announcement for Participation in DoD’s SBIR/STTR Program
Original Response Date: Sept. 30, 2021
SDA release a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) to launch its participation in DoD’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. These programs are competitive opportunities to encourage domestic small businesses to engage in research and development with the DoD. SDA will utilize the SBIR/STTR program to enhance future tranches and to inform the overall architecture of spiral development projects to demonstrate warfighter capability via proliferated LEO. Through a competitive awards-based program, SDA’s SBIR/STTR efforts will enable small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization. SDA will issue Small Business Opportunities under this BAA throughout the year as we identify specific technical topics for industry consideration and will consider partnering with other organizations such as DARPA or AFRL based on their research interests and the quality of small business proposals.
SDA RFI Seeks Industry Feedback on BMC3
Response Date: January 08, 2021
SDA released a Request for Information (RFI) for an integrated and interoperable Battle Management, Command, Control, and Communications (BMC3) capability for proliferated space architectures. Ideally, the time needed to execute a given kill chain should be driven entirely by the time it takes for a commander to authorize weapons release and the weapon's (or weapons') engagement time. SDA's long-term vision for BMC3 is to remove latency drivers from time-sensitive kill chains, such as access to situational awareness, operational decision support, and execution of the commander's decisions. SDA believes resilient, space-based sensing, data transport, and BMC3 are enablers for this vision. The RFI seeks feedback on in-space and ground-based BMC3 capabilities to inform SDA’s Tranche 1 solicitations. SDA is interested in feedback on technical and acquisition challenges related to BMC3.
SDA Resources
SDA has published an Optical Intersatellite Link Standard. This document provides interface specifications that enable space vehicles and payloads developed and operated by multiple organizations to readily exchange data via optical intersatelite links and to integrate with the National Defense Space Architecture.