Commercially Available Space Domain Awareness Sensing, Data and Analysis

1. Introduction:

The United States Space Force (USSF) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to gather information on commercially available and mature sensing, data and analysis capabilities for enhancing tactical Space Domain Awareness (SDA) in support of the Rapid Resilient Command and Control (R2C2) Combined Program Office (CPO). The R2C2 CPO is responsible for delivering integrated tactical ground mission planning, C2 and mission execution services for USSF and any mission partner space vehicles executing representative Orbital Warfare (OW) Mission Area missions described in the USSF-published Space Force Doctrine Document 1. Responses to this RFI will be used for planning purposes only and may inform future acquisition decisions. This RFI does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a commitment to issue an RFP in the future.

2. Background:

The R2C2 program requires Space Domain Awareness (SDA) across all orbital regimes to effectively and safely command and control current and/or future space vehicles. Each orbital regime presents unique challenges for SDA and we do not expect companies to have expertise or capabilities across all. All R2C2-controlled vehicles need awareness of active maneuverable satellite objects, inactive stationary satellite objects, and orbital debris in their respective vicinities within their respective operating orbital regimes.  In concert with SDA from USSF government SDA capabilities, this information will be used for the safety of flight, mission planning and threat awareness.  The US Space Force understands that the government does not have the preponderance of SDA information and desires to augment commercial SDA providers’ data and analysis.

3. Scope:

This RFI seeks information on commercially available sensing systems capable of providing SDA data and analysis across any orbital regimes and using any sensing modality.

Respondents are encouraged to provide information on specific areas of interest to include, but are not limited to:

3.1 Coverage: Ability to track objects in any one or multiple orbital regimes. A vendor need not cover all orbital regimes to apply.

3.2 Resolution: Ability to detect, track, identify and/or characterize small and/or dim objects (e.g., debris) across any one or multiple orbital regimes.

3.3 Accuracy: Precision of object tracking and orbit determination across any one or multiple orbital regimes.

3.4 Data Processing and Analysis: Automated object detection, tracking, identification and characterization capabilities.

3.5 Integration: Ability to provide processed orbital state information with covariance and maneuver detections message for mission planning integration.

3.6 Cybersecurity: Robust cybersecurity measures to protect data and systems if direct system integration is required.

3.7 Phenomenology: Source phenomenology (e.g. optical, radar, other) capable of accurately detecting, tracking, identifying and/or characterizing objects.

3.9 Update frequency: Timeliness associated with the systems’ capabilities of detecting and characterizing anomalistic or other changes in behavior for the objects in their catalog/collection network. orbits.

3.10 Accessibility: Availability of the observation data, processed state vectors, or maneuver detection messages.

4.0 Information Requested:

Respondents are requested to provide the following information for each sensor system proposed.  This information will be used to supplement the government’s analysis:

4.1. Optical Phenomenology:

System Description:

4.1.1 Aperture size, field of view, and wavelength ranges.

4.1.2 Detector type (e.g., CCD, CMOS).

4.1.3 Capabilities for photometric and spectroscopic observations.

4.1.4 Current operational status and availability.

4.2 System Performance:

4.2.1 Limiting visual magnitude for objects; specify differences in detect or track capabilities if applicable.

4.2.2 Astrometric accuracy and precision of object tracking.

4.2.3 Revisit/reacquisition rate for objects

4.2.4 Close object detection

4.3 Data Processing and Analysis:

4.3.1 Description of data processing algorithms and software.

4.3.2 Capabilities for automated object detection, correlation and tracking.

4.3.3 Ability to characterize space objects (e.g., size, shape, material).

4.3.4 Integration with existing SDA databases and tools (Ex: UDL or others).

4.3.5 Describe how your system's data processing algorithms are optimized for each orbital regime.

4.4 Security:

4.4.1 Cybersecurity measures and compliance with government standards (e.g., NIST 800-53).

4.4.2 Data protection and access control mechanisms.

5.0. Radar Systems:

5.1 System Description:

5.1.1 Frequency, range, and resolution.

5.1.2 Current operational status and availability.

5.2 System Performance:

5.2.1 Limiting Radar Cross Section (RCS) for objects; specify differences in detect or track capabilities if applicable.

5.2.2 Astrometric accuracy and precision of object tracking.

5.2.3 Revisit/reacquisition rate for objects

5.2.4 Close object detection

5.3 Data Processing and Analysis:

5.3.1 Description of data processing algorithms and software.

5.3.2 Integration with existing SDA databases and tools (e.g. UDL or others).

5.4 Security:

5.4.1 Cybersecurity measures and compliance with government standards (e.g., NIST 800-53).

5.4.2 Data protection and access control mechanisms.

6.0 Data Fusion and Integration Capabilities (Applicable to both Optical Telescopes and Radar Systems):

6.0.1 Describe your system's ability or severable software’s capability to fuse data from multiple sensors to improve SDA accuracy and completeness.

6.0.2 Describe the data formats for data provided in or any specific data description documentation describing the data deliverables.

6.0.3 Describe other government customers that may be purchasing the data, their use case, and any timeliness requirements.

6.0.4 Describe how the data will be provided to the government, machine to machine availability, or government repositories already leveraging the information.

7.0 Company Information (Applicable to both Optical Telescopes and Radar Systems):

7.0.1 Company overview and experience in SDA.

7.0.2 Past performance on government contracts (if applicable).

7.0.3 Security clearances (if applicable).

7.0.4 Business Point of Contact (Name, Title, Email, Phone Number)

7.0.5 Technical Point of Contact (Name, Title, Email, Phone Number)

7.0.6 Relevant Contract Information

8.0 Questions for Respondents:

8.1 Respondents are requested to answer the following questions in addition to providing the information requested in Sections 4-7:

8.1.1 What are your plans for future development and improvement?

8.1.2 What is your experience in working with the U.S. government?

8.1.3 What are your data security protocols?

8.1.4 How would your proposed sensor system integrate with existing US Space Force SDA architectures or how are they integrated currently?

8.1.5 How does your system address the unique challenges of tracking objects in each orbital regime?

8.1.6 Describe your approach to data validation and quality control.

8.1.7 Describe your system's ability to transition seamlessly between tracking objects in different orbital regimes.

9.0 RFI Submission Instructions:

Responses to this RFI should be submitted electronically to lee.smales@spaceforce.mil and cari.forrester.ctr@spaceforce.mil in PDF format. The file name should be formatted as: "RFI-R2C2-25-001-[Company Name]". Responses should not exceed 20 pages using 12-point font and 1 inch margins.

10. Disclaimer:

This RFI is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation or a commitment to issue a solicitation in the future. The U.S. Government does not intend to award a contract based solely on this RFI. All information received in response to this RFI is subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Respondents are responsible for marking any proprietary information contained in their responses. The Government will not pay for any information received in response to this RFI, nor will the Government compensate respondents for any costs incurred in preparing their responses.