RFI_Ground Bounce NaaS_1Oct25.docx

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

United States Space Force Space Systems Command Ground Bounce Networking

1.0 Description

1.1 The USSF’s Space System Command is seeking information on how an interested contractor could provide Network as a Service (NaaS) for the Ground Bounce (GB) Project. NaaS includes procurement, lifecycle management, technology refreshes, network performance monitoring, multi-site transport connectivity, user onboarding, information assurance processing, sustainment and other related tasks.

1.2 THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the USSF is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Respondents are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. Any information submitted by respondents to this RFI is strictly voluntary. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. Proprietary information or trade secrets shall be clearly identified.

1.3 NAICS Code: 541715 Aerospace Research and Development (except prototype and production). The small business size standard is 1000. Participation from small and small disadvantaged businesses is highly encouraged.

2.0 Background

2.1 Scope Overview: Space Systems Command (SSC) is seeking information for a contractor to provide NaaS for the Ground Bounce Project. GB minimizes reliance on traditional infrastructures by leveraging commercial proliferated Low Earth Orbit (pLEO) satellites such as the Starlink satellite constellation and its Ka High Throughput (KaHTS) product to provide underlying resilience and augmented capacity. While Starlink and its KaHTS product offer high throughput and resilient connectivity, it is still a public internet service. Private network integration requires secured overlay solutions to ensure isolation and compliance with current operational requirements. The purpose of this RFI is to seek information from responders on how they would deliver this secured private transport over Starlink (or any public pLEO transport), enabling secure connectivity for existing government end-user systems deployed globally that require an alternate transport modality under challenging conditions.

2.2 Generic Systems to be operated, interfaced with, and sustained include but are not limited to:

2.2.1 Information technology (IT) infrastructure to communicate at appropriate levels (CLASSIFIED and UNCLASSIFIED)

2.2.2 Cybersecurity systems with Risk Management Framework standards

2.2.3 Network systems

2.2.4 Government systems and transport

2.2.5 Space systems

2.2.6 Commercial satellite terminals

2.2.7 Commercial transport

2.3 Requirements:

2.3.1 Provide network integration with new and existing on-premises government operational transport networks, government mission user networks, and test networks and applications.

2.3.2 Provide network integration with commercial leased-line providers, Internet service providers, and pLEO service providers.

2.3.3 Provide secured multipoint Layer 2 and Layer 3 virtual private network (VPN), managed Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), managed security services, and software defined network (SDN) transports.

2.3.4 Provide scalable network solutions that support multipath load-balancing and adapt to pLEO system characteristics.

2.3.5 Provide scalable network solution that allocates aggregated pLEO capacity among multiple user organizations.

2.3.6 Provide end-to-end user traffic separation across GB transport.

2.3.7 Provide network services to enable remote access to new and existing operational and test infrastructures on premises.

2.3.8 Provide flexibility to reconfigure and remove network offerings of the existing users.

2.3.9 Onboard and configure new users.

2.3.10 Provide multi-site transport connectivity covering multiple regions and international sites that are carrier-agnostic.

2.3.11 Provide network redundancy, diversity, and reliability across interconnected sites.

2.3.12 Comply with industry security and networking standards.

2.3.13 Provide architecture documentation and the network’s physical and logical layouts associated with end-to-end integrated user systems.

2.3.14 Provide Application Programming Interface (API) and automation interfaces to other government infrastructures and routine management systems.

2.3.15 Owns and operates network infrastructure.

2.3.16 Procure and control all aspects of the infrastructure from circuit procurement to management of the leased infrastructures.

2.3.17 Procure and manage transportation, storage, and logistics including export licenses.

2.3.18 Provide network performance monitoring, performance reporting, and service level agreement monitoring.

2.3.19 Provide service orchestration and management across all government user systems.

2.3.20 Develop procurement, sparing, and tech refresh plans for all hardware and software.

2.3.21 Conduct procurement and lifecycle management. Provide and maintain all hardware, software and associated licenses to include the ability to conduct rapid response maintenance.

2.3.22 Implement periodic patches and fixes for networking systems.

2.3.23 Conduct technology refreshes, as needed.

2.3.24 Maintain Information Assurance (IA) compliance and provide relevant IA body of evidence/artifacts required for an Authority to Operate (ATO).

2.3.25 Perform restoral/recovery actions and initial root cause investigations for any anomalies and present findings along with recommended course(s) of action.

2.3.26 Conduct and maintain configuration management of software/database artifacts.

2.3.27 Support development of technical upgrades with minimal impact to operations.

2.3.28 Provide diagrams of on-premises infrastructures for on-site maintainers to perform touchpoint maintenance.

2.3.29 A TS/SCI clearance is required for all personnel who will interface with external government networks.

2.3.30 A secure facility/space is required to aid in document review and transportation.

2.3.31 Administrative support

3.0 Requested Information

3.1 Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a white paper and a PowerPoint presentation.

The white paper shall be limited to a single document of no more than 10 pages. The cover letter is excluded from the page limit. The document should be single-spaced, have one-inch margins, US letter-size (8 1/2 by 11 inches) page, and minimum font size of 12-point font.

PowerPoint slides shall be limited to a single document of no more than 20 slides. The title slide and information required as part of section 3.2 are excluded from the slide limit. Slide size should be 16:9 aspect ratio.

3.2 Responses should include:

3.2.1 Business name and Size Standard

3.2.2 Submitter’s Name and Parent Company, if applicable

3.2.3 Business Address: Street, City, State, and ZIP code

3.2.4 Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code

3.2.5 Unique Entity ID

3.2.6 Point(s) of contact, including telephone number(s) and email address(es)

3.3 PowerPoint presentations and white papers in Microsoft Office compatible form or Portable Document Format (PDF) are due no later than 16:00PDT 05 December 2025. Responses shall be via email only to Primary: tobias.richards@spaceforce.mil Alternate: victor.vizcarra.1.ctr@spaceforce.mil. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

3.4 SSC has entered into contracts with Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) and/or Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance staff working for the Government. These include: The Aerospace Corporation, SAIC, Zachary Piper, SAVI, Galapagos Federal Solutions LLC and Blue Sky Innovators. These entities may review submissions as technical support to the government. If Respondents disagree to the release of its RFI response to any of the aforementioned firms, the Respondent must clearly state this restriction in the cover letter accompanying the RFI response.

3.5 Foreign firms are advised that they will not be allowed to participate in this acquisition at the prime contractor level; however, provided they are eligible to do business with the US Government they may be eligible to participate at the subcontractor level. The research and test data produced under a resultant contract may contain Military Critical Technology List (MCTL) information whose export is restricted by Export Control Act (Title 22, U.S. Sec 2751, et seq.) or the Export Administration Act of 1979, as amended (Title 50, U.S.C., App. 2401, et seq.). Request certification and registration from the Defense Logistics Services Center (DLSC), Federal Center, 74 North Washington, Battle Creek, MI 49016-3412 as soon as possible.

3.6 Questions

3.6.1 What current operations of government systems do you support, if any?

3.6.2 Are you familiar with both commercial and U.S. Government cybersecurity requirements?

3.6.3 Have you supported customers in mixed environments where commercial and government systems interconnect?

3.6.4 What is the scope of services you provide: transport only, end-user integration, resource orchestration and monitoring?

3.6.5 Do you provide a unified Network Operations Center (NOC) with visibility into all integrated components and interfaces where applicable, including the pLEO system, if the pLEO system’s API is available?

3.6.6 Will you coordinate incident management, change management, and maintenance windows across all vendors and government agencies involved in the edge-to-edge service on behalf of SSC?

3.6.7 How do you handle cross-domain solutions and/or NSA Type-1 encryption devices if government and commercial networks must interface?

3.6.8 Do you currently operate a network with an ATO?

3.6.9 How do you ensure compliance with U.S. Government cybersecurity and acquisition regulations?

3.6.10 How do you verify that your infrastructure meets the technical requirements?

3.6.11 Do you use network observability tools to correlate issues across network infrastructure and integrated systems to gain insight into system performance to achieve a faster resolution?

3.6.12 Do you provide formal Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for your NaaS offering, and if so, what service parameters are covered?

3.6.13 Do you have the ability to sustain the networking system in international locations?

3.6.14 What is your ability to support programs at higher classification levels (i.e. facility infrastructure, telecommunications, personnel, etc.)? Please define the levels of classification you can support or state when the necessary classified infrastructure would be in place.

3.6.15 Is the service priced as per-usage, flat rate, or hybrid?

3.6.16 What additional information would you require from the Government to effectively create a proposal for an effort of this magnitude?

3.6.17 Please provide a Rough Order Magnitude cost estimate for the requirements listed above.

3.6.18 Please provide a Rough Order Magnitude schedule/timeline for the requirements listed above.

4.0 Summary

4.1 SSC is seeking information on potential NaaS approaches for the Ground Bounce overlay network solution that can readily interface with Starlink’s pLEO system and the U.S. government transport network to enable rapid deployment of the shared pLEO bandwidth capacity to end-user systems. The RFI aims to collect vendor’s full scope capability from providing “transport as a service” to edge-to-edge service management, security features, and user network integration strategies that align with the Ground Bounce project’s current on-premises environment and future growth plans. The vendors should clearly describe their service boundaries and how they handle integration with private end-user networks. SSC welcomes insights into technology roadmaps, service level guarantees, comprehensive network resource orchestration among user systems and pLEO providers; and network observability methodologies that can scale to support multiuser integrated system while meeting performance and resilience requirements. Participants are encouraged to provide clear documentation, relevant case studies, and innovative approaches that meet our outlined requirements.

4.2 THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. The USSF has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.