SDA HQ085021S0001-02 ESA SBIR Final.pdf

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and

Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Opportunity Announcement

HQ085021S0001-02

L-Band Multiband/Interleaved Electronically Scanned Array (ESA) Antenna

Which program will fund this topic?

SBIR

DoD Technology Areas:

Sensors, Electronics and Electronic Warfare; Space Platforms

RT&L Technology Focus Areas:

Space Offense & Defense; Fully Networked Command, Control & Communication

What type of proposals will be accepted?

Both Phase I and DP2

I. INTRODUCTION

The Space Development Agency (SDA) is issuing an SBIR/STTR Opportunity (SBO) inviting submissions of innovative research concepts supporting the advancement of our national defense space capabilities.

This SBO is issued under the SDA Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for SBIR/STTR, HQ085021S0001. All proposals in response to the technical area(s) described herein must be submitted in accordance with the instructions provided under HQ085021S0001, found here:

https://go.usa.gov/x724e.

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items.

Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 3.5 of the

Announcement. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws.

a. Eligibility Please refer to Section 3.1, Eligible Applicants, of HQ085021S0001 for full eligibility requirements.

b. Anticipated Structure/Award Information Please refer to Section 1, Funding Opportunity Description, and Section 2, Award Information, of HQ085021S0001 for additional details on the structure of this opportunity and prospective awards.

If a proposer can provide adequate documentation to substantiate that the scientific and technical merit and feasibility described in the Phase I section of the topic has been met and describes the potential commercial applications, the Direct to Phase II (DP2) authority allows the Department of Defense (DoD) to make an award to a small business concern under Phase II of the SBIR program without regard to whether the small business concern was provided an award under Phase I of an SBIR program. This SBO is accepting both Phase I and DP2 proposal submissions.

For this SBO, SDA will accept Phase I proposals for cost of up to $250,000 for a 12-month period of performance. SDA will accept DP2 proposals for a cost of up to $1,700,000. This includes a 12-month base period not to exceed a cost of $500,000 and a 12-month option period not to exceed a cost of $1,200,000.

Proposers awarded a Phase I contract will be eligible to submit a proposal for Phase II and will be contacted by SDA at the appropriate time during their Phase I period of performance. If selected, Phase II will have a cost of up to $1,700,000 for a duration not to exceed 24 months.

c. Proposal Preparation Instructions Proposers should refer to Section 4, Application and Submission Information, of HQ085021S0001 for detailed proposal preparation instructions. Proposals that do not comply with the requirements detailed in HQ085021S0001 and the research objectives of this SBO are considered non-conforming and therefore will neither be evaluated nor considered for award.

The Technical Volume of Phase I proposals shall not exceed 20 pages. Phase II commercialization strategy shall not exceed 5 pages. This should be the last section of the Technical Volume and will not count against the 20-page limit. Please refer to Appendix A of HQ085021S0001 for detailed instructions on Phase I proposal preparation.

The Technical Volume of DP2 proposals shall include both Feasibility Documentation and the Technical Proposal. Feasibility Documentation shall not exceed 10 pages, and the Technical Proposal shall not exceed 20 pages. Phase II commercialization strategy shall not exceed 5 pages. It should be the last section of the Technical Volume and will not count against either the Feasibility Documentation or Technical Proposal page limit.

Please refer to Appendix B of HQ085021S0001 for detailed instructions on DP2 proposal preparation.

d. Evaluation of Proposals Please refer to Section 5, Evaluation of Proposals, of HQ085021S0001 for a full description of the proposal evaluation and selection process.

e. Due Date/Time Full proposal packages (Proposal Cover Sheet, Technical Volume, and Cost Volume inclusive of supporting documentation) must be submitted via the DoD SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP) per the instructions in Section 4, Application and Submission Information, of HQ085021S0001 no later than March 31, 2021 at 12:00PM ET.

f. Company Commercialization Report

Please refer to Appendix A, Section A.3.f and Appendix B, Section B.3.f of HQ085021S0001 for Company Commercialization Report guidance for Phase I and Direct to Phase II proposals, respectively.

II. TOPIC OVERVIEW

a. Objective The Space Development Agency (SDA) is seeking an L-band Electronically Scanned Array (ESA) antenna for use on the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) class space vehicles (SV). SDA’s current Tranche 0 (T0) constellation has implemented L-band antennas that are body mounted, not steerable, and therefore have a restricted coverage area. SDA’s primary purpose for L-band communications is to enhance Link-16 coverage. The field of regard for T0 with the currently implemented body mounted antenna is approximately 100 nautical miles, but SDA is interested in a field of regard of at least 300 nautical miles to allow for full coverage of Link-16. SDA is soliciting concepts for L-band ESA antennas to support these enhancements, as indicated by topic 9 in SDA’s Tranche 1 Minimum Viable Product Request for Information (RFI) (1). ESAs allow for significantly more coverage and enhanced power density for the ground.

b. Description SDA is responsible for orchestrating the development, fielding, and operation of the DoD’s future threat-driven National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA), a resilient military sensing and data transport capability via a proliferated space architecture primarily in LEO. To achieve this mission, SDA uses novel approaches to accelerate the development and fielding of military space capabilities necessary to ensure U.S.

technological and military advantage in space for national defense.

Current L-band antennas are fixed in direction and are adequate for technology demonstration or for limited operational requirements. To ensure maximum coverage for Link-16 and to ensure maximum coverage time in the area of responsibility, a steerable or an active ESA is required. It is preferable that this ESA have the ability for low-power operations. Ease of manufacturability for a large number of satellites and the capability of reconfiguring/updating the software in space are also desired.

The initial antenna design will be based upon mature technology that has Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 or greater, but the design itself only needs to be at a TRL of 2 initially. The following key parameters must be thoroughly considered:

• While the vendor specifies size, weight and power (SWaP), SDA seeks a low- SWaP profile. The mass must be between 4 and 20 kg for the total system.

• SDA requires at least 330 Watts of max Tx power and 100 Watts of Rx power.

• Size should be within 5 cm in any dimension of 30 cm x 20 cm x 20 cm.

• System should include at least six (6) modules but no more than ten (10).

• Vendor option for field of regard, field of view, and number of beams. SDA’s intent is to provide global, 24/7 continuous coverage in the future. SDA is seeking ESAs to improve instantaneous FOV and minimize the number of satellites needed to provide global coverage.

• A throughput solution of 60% antenna efficiency or greater is required.

c. Phase I This effort shall define and design a concept for a demonstration system to be developed and tested in Phase II. Detailed analysis of the predicted performance shall be developed.

The proposed concept shall be defined sufficiently to develop key milestones that define the path from the current state of the technology to a high-TRL state. This phase will conclude with a concept demonstration of the ESA to determine its feasibility for SDA operations and Phase II.

The Phase I analysis report shall include a narrative that introduces the verification analyses that were performed and, for each analysis, discusses the objective/hypothesis, parameters, assumptions, initial conditions, and expected results. Analysis results shall be compared to TPMs in a summary of findings, conclusions, and recommendations. The Phase II validation test plan shall describe a future benchtop prototype, instrumentation, and test protocol aimed at verifying antenna performance, including characterization of the parameters in a laboratory. In addition to laboratory validation testing, Phase II builds on Phase I work by producing a detailed design of the antenna.

Schedule/Milestones/Deliverables

• Month 1: Project kickoff briefing to SDA Transport Cell Chief detailing the proposed technical approach and schedule with milestones.

• Month 4: Quarterly progress report including technical progress to date and the technical plan for the remainder of Phase I.

• Month 6: Interim progress briefing to the Transport Cell Chief detailing technical progress to date, significant tasks accomplished, major risks, a technical plan for the second half of Phase I, and any potential issues or problem areas that require the attention of SDA.

• Month 7: Quarterly progress report including technical progress to date and the technical plan for the remainder of Phase I.

• Month 10: Quarterly progress report including technical progress to date and the technical plan for the remainder of Phase I.

• Month 12: Final technical progress report and briefing of the prototype, including the preliminary design, requirements verification analysis report, and Phase II validation test plan. The briefing shall include a concept demonstration of the L-band ESA for one or more of SDA’s use cases.

d. Phase II Phase II executes a detailed design of the L-band antenna that builds on the results of Phase I. This includes computer aided design (CAD) renderings, detailed drawings, specifications, and other documents that define the ESA and its supporting subsystems in sufficient detail to enable prototyping of the antenna in Phase III. Government furnished information (GFI), in the form of supplementary mission requirements and host spacecraft interface definitions released after Phase II kickoff, shall inform the Phase II design work.

In addition to the detailed design, Phase II shall also construct a benchtop prototype (breadboard) of the antenna. The breadboard is part of a validation test apparatus that includes equipment necessary to characterize the antenna parameters as laid out in Phase I.

Detailed design and validation test reports comprise the Phase II delivery. This, in addition to the working benchtop prototype shall be delivered at the end of the Phase II period of performance.

e. Dual Use Applications (Phase III) Phase III work would target transition and commercialization of the L-band ESA. Given the emergence of small satellite constellations within the commercial sector, commercial applications of this research may include the integration of the L-band ESA with a commercial small satellite bus. DoD/military applications include, but are not limited to, integration with DoD space vehicles that require steerable antennas to more effectively communicate with military operations around the world.

f. References

(1) SDA Tranche 1 Minimum Viable Product RFI (https://beta.sam.gov/)

g. Keywords L-Band Antenna; Electronically Scanned Array (ESA); Low Earth Orbit (LEO); Space Vehicles; Steerable Antennas; Satellite Communications

III. SUBMISSION of QUESTIONS From February 12, 2021 to March 2, 2021, this SBO is issued for Pre-Release. During the pre-release period, proposing firms have an opportunity to contact topic authors at osd.pentagon.ousd-r-e.mbx.hq085021s0001@mail.mil to ask technical questions about specific BAA topics. Questions should be limited to specific information related to improving the understanding of a particular topic’s requirement. Proposing firms may not ask for advice or guidance on solution approach and you may not submit additional material to the topic author. If information provided during an exchange with the topic author is deemed necessary for proposal preparation, that information will be made available to all parties through DSIP Topic Q&A module.

Once SDA begins accepting proposals on March 2, 2021, no further direct contact between proposers and topic authors is allowed unless the Topic Author is responding to a question submitted during the Pre-release period. However, proposers may submit written questions through the DSIP Topic Q&A module at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login. The DSIP Topic Q&A for this BAA opens on March 2, 2021 and closes to new questions on March 17, 2021 at 12:00PM ET. Once the BAA closes to proposal submission, no communication of any kind with the topic author or through Topic Q&A regarding your submitted proposal is allowed.

SDA intends to use electronic mail for all correspondence regarding this SBO. Questions related to the technical aspect of the research objectives and awards specifically related to this SBO should be emailed to osd.pentagon.ousd-r-e.mbx.hq085021s0001@mail.mil. Please reference SBO HQ085021S0001-02 in the subject line. All questions must be in English and must include the name, email address, and the telephone number of a point of contact.

Technical support for the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP) is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET. Requests for technical support must be emailed to DoDSBIRSupport@reisystems.com with a copy to osd.pentagon.ousd-r-e.mbx.hq085021s0001@mail.mil.

III. SUBMISSION of QUESTIONS