Final RFP - Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN)
Closed Solicitation Posted
- Solicitation number
- 80GSFC26R0011_RFP
- Agency
-
Goddard Space Center
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- NAICS code
- 336414 Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing
- PSC
- 1555 Space Vehicles
- Place of performance
- Greenbelt, Maryland, United States
- Points of contact
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center seeks design, development, integration, launch, and on-orbit continuous communications infrastructure for the Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN) supporting Mars sample return and future exploration missions, with proposals due June 15 at 2:00 PM EDT. The procurement is set aside for Women-Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSB), structured as a hybrid Firm-Fixed-Price contract with an Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity Time and Materials component, and conducted as full and open competition.
Eligibility is restricted by 51 U.S.C. § 20306: offerors must demonstrate U.S. commercial provider status, receipt of NASA funding in FY 2024 or FY 2025 for Mars Sample Return commercial design studies, and proposal of a separately and independently launched Mars telecom orbiter supporting end-to-end Mars Sample Return missions. Failure to provide all required eligibility documentation at proposal submission results in proposal rejection and ineligibility for award.
Place of performance is offsite at the contractor's facilities. The NAICS code is 336414, Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing, with a small business size standard of 1,300 employees. Work spans three phases through December 31, 2030: development through implementation, launch and post-launch checkout, and transit to Mars through relay commissioning. Ground and flight systems delivery to NASA is required by December 31, 2028, with operational readiness targeted for end of calendar year 2030 (threshold) or 2029 (goal).
The contract includes nine CLINs: CLIN 0001 (Core MTN, firm-fixed-price), CLIN 0002 (Engineering Analysis IDIQ Time and Materials with $10 million cumulative ceiling through December 31, 2030), CLINs 0003–0008 (Launch, integration, five years mission operations, firm-fixed-price options), and CLIN 0009 (NASA-selected science payload integration, firm-fixed-price). NASA will provide Government Furnished Property including two Electra UHF Transceiver flight units (valued at approximately $6.2 million) and ground support equipment, available March 2027 onward.
Technical requirements include Direct-with-Earth X-band and Ka-band links supporting minimum 0.1 Mbps forward and 0.5 Mbps return at maximum Mars-Earth range; Proximity links supporting UHF legacy communications at 2 Mbps minimum and Advanced Proximity links at 25 Mbps minimum; 95% DWE link availability (goal: 99%); concurrent full-duplex multi-user operations; 1.0 Tbyte DWE and 0.5 Tbyte Proximity data storage; position, navigation, and timing services with signal-in-space-error of 100 meters position and 5 cm/sec velocity (threshold); coverage to all surface latitudes ±50° from Mars equator and orbital assets to 500 km altitude; non-proprietary CCSDS protocols including CCSDS Bundle Protocol version 7 and Lunanet interoperability standards. The system must accommodate a NASA-provided science payload within 20 kg mass, 60 W power, and 55×55×45 cm dimensional constraints.
Evaluation prioritizes Technical Proposal and Past Performance combined significantly more important than Price, using adjectival scales (Outstanding, Very Good, Good, Marginal, Unacceptable for technical; Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor for past performance). Milestone-based payments are required with final milestone payments not less than 10% of each CLIN price. The contract effective date is targeted no later than October 1, 2026. Questions must be submitted to Contracting Officer Ian P. Sherry at Ian.P.Sherry@nasa.gov (submission deadline and contact details for questions now closed; prior questions and answers were posted June 1, 2026). Amendment 0001 (June 1) replaced Attachments B and D and provided government responses to 16 industry questions. Amendment 0002 (June 10) updated financial security requirements for Government financing. Proposals must include an Organizational Conflicts of Interest Avoidance Plan and Commercial Architecture Security Questionnaire addressing NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 controls.
Notice text
3 versions
Update #3 · Latest ·
**JUNE 10, 2026 – 80GSFC26R0011 – Amendment 0002**
The purpose of Amendment 0002 is to update RFP Provision L.10(2) to align with NASA’s response to Question No. 6 from the “MTN – Questions and Answers (06-01-2026)” document posted under Amendment 0001. This provision update was unintentionally omitted from Amendment 0001.
See document entitled “SF30 – Amendment 0002” contained under the Attachments/Links section for details.
(End of Amendment 0002)
**JUNE 01, 2026 - 80GSFC26R0011 - Amendment 0001**
The purpose Amendment 0001 is to incorporate RFP changes as annotated in red, replace Attachment B (MTN Objectives and Requirements Document) and Attachment D (Data Procurement Document) with revised versions, and provide Government responses to industry questions.
All documents associated with Amendment 0001 are contained under the Attachments/Links section of this solicitation announcement.
(End of Amendment 0001)
You are invited to submit a proposal in response to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN) solicitation. The principal purpose of this requirement is to provide the design, development, integration, launch, and on orbit, continuous communications in support of a Mars sample return mission and future Mars surface, orbital, and human exploration missions. MTN is expected to support autonomous operations, onboard processing, and extended mission duration capabilities.
NASA will conduct this acquisition as a full and open competition. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 336414 and the Small Business Size Standard is 1,300 employees.
This competitive acquisition will result in a hybrid Firm-Fixed-Price contract with an Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) Time and Materials (T&M) component. The contract will include a Core Requirement for the Delivery of the MTN. Optional Requirements include Launch Services, Integration, On-Orbit Commissioning, and five (5) years of Mission Operations. Additionally, the contract will provide the ability to issue T&M task orders for Engineering Analyses. These analyses will increase confidence and understanding of the design, support planning activities, and enable feasibility and trade studies related to MTN capabilities or future enhancements. The contract will be performed offsite at the Contractor’s facilities.
The anticipated contract award date will be in accordance 51 U.S.C § 20306; therefore, potential Offerors should assume a contract effective date of No Later Than (NLT) October 01, 2026. Additionally, this solicitation includes eligibility requirements mandated by 51 U.S.C § 20306. Offerors must submit all required information and documentation necessary to demonstrate eligibility at the time of proposal submission. Failure to provide all the documentation required by the solicitation will result in proposal rejection.
Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation shall be due no later than June 15, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT. Proposals for this solicitation are required to be submitted through NASA’s Enterprise File Sharing and Sync Box (EFSS Box), a FedRAMP Moderate certified platform. Potential offerors, especially those that have not previously submitted a proposal utilizing NASA’s EFSS Box, are encouraged to review the solicitation instruction entitled “Electronic Proposal Delivery – Proposal Marking and Delivery Through NASA’s EFSS Box” which provides instructions related to the submission of proposal via EFSS Box. Offerors are encouraged to check with their corporate IT staff to determine if there are firewall restrictions that would need to be addressed prior to the submission of proposal files through NASA’s EFSS Box.
This Final Request for Proposal pertains to the Mars Telecommunication Network Draft Request for Proposal previously issued on April 02, 2026, under Notice ID 80GSFC26R0011, which is accessible via the SAM.gov link provided below.
https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/ecfbfeda4acb4d26a1a5653b2df43e5e/view
Update #2 ·
**JUNE 01, 2026 - 80GSFC26R0011 - Amendment 0001**
The purpose Amendment 0001 is to incorporate RFP changes as annotated in red, replace Attachment B (MTN Objectives and Requirements Document) and Attachment D (Data Procurement Document) with revised versions, and provide Government responses to industry questions.
All documents associated with Amendment 0001 are contained under the Attachments/Links section of this solicitation announcement.
(End of Amendment 0001)
You are invited to submit a proposal in response to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN) solicitation. The principal purpose of this requirement is to provide the design, development, integration, launch, and on orbit, continuous communications in support of a Mars sample return mission and future Mars surface, orbital, and human exploration missions. MTN is expected to support autonomous operations, onboard processing, and extended mission duration capabilities.
NASA will conduct this acquisition as a full and open competition. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 336414 and the Small Business Size Standard is 1,300 employees.
This competitive acquisition will result in a hybrid Firm-Fixed-Price contract with an Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) Time and Materials (T&M) component. The contract will include a Core Requirement for the Delivery of the MTN. Optional Requirements include Launch Services, Integration, On-Orbit Commissioning, and five (5) years of Mission Operations. Additionally, the contract will provide the ability to issue T&M task orders for Engineering Analyses. These analyses will increase confidence and understanding of the design, support planning activities, and enable feasibility and trade studies related to MTN capabilities or future enhancements. The contract will be performed offsite at the Contractor’s facilities.
The anticipated contract award date will be in accordance 51 U.S.C § 20306; therefore, potential Offerors should assume a contract effective date of No Later Than (NLT) October 01, 2026. Additionally, this solicitation includes eligibility requirements mandated by 51 U.S.C § 20306. Offerors must submit all required information and documentation necessary to demonstrate eligibility at the time of proposal submission. Failure to provide all the documentation required by the solicitation will result in proposal rejection.
Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation shall be due no later than June 15, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT. Proposals for this solicitation are required to be submitted through NASA’s Enterprise File Sharing and Sync Box (EFSS Box), a FedRAMP Moderate certified platform. Potential offerors, especially those that have not previously submitted a proposal utilizing NASA’s EFSS Box, are encouraged to review the solicitation instruction entitled “Electronic Proposal Delivery – Proposal Marking and Delivery Through NASA’s EFSS Box” which provides instructions related to the submission of proposal via EFSS Box. Offerors are encouraged to check with their corporate IT staff to determine if there are firewall restrictions that would need to be addressed prior to the submission of proposal files through NASA’s EFSS Box.
This Final Request for Proposal pertains to the Mars Telecommunication Network Draft Request for Proposal previously issued on April 02, 2026, under Notice ID 80GSFC26R0011, which is accessible via the SAM.gov link provided below.
https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/ecfbfeda4acb4d26a1a5653b2df43e5e/view
Update #1 ·
You are invited to submit a proposal in response to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN) solicitation. The principal purpose of this requirement is to provide the design, development, integration, launch, and on orbit, continuous communications in support of a Mars sample return mission and future Mars surface, orbital, and human exploration missions. MTN is expected to support autonomous operations, onboard processing, and extended mission duration capabilities.
NASA will conduct this acquisition as a full and open competition. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 336414 and the Small Business Size Standard is 1,300 employees.
This competitive acquisition will result in a hybrid Firm-Fixed-Price contract with an Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) Time and Materials (T&M) component. The contract will include a Core Requirement for the Delivery of the MTN. Optional Requirements include Launch Services, Integration, On-Orbit Commissioning, and five (5) years of Mission Operations. Additionally, the contract will provide the ability to issue T&M task orders for Engineering Analyses. These analyses will increase confidence and understanding of the design, support planning activities, and enable feasibility and trade studies related to MTN capabilities or future enhancements. The contract will be performed offsite at the Contractor’s facilities.
The anticipated contract award date will be in accordance 51 U.S.C § 20306; therefore, potential Offerors should assume a contract effective date of No Later Than (NLT) October 01, 2026. Additionally, this solicitation includes eligibility requirements mandated by 51 U.S.C § 20306. Offerors must submit all required information and documentation necessary to demonstrate eligibility at the time of proposal submission. Failure to provide all the documentation required by the solicitation will result in proposal rejection.
Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation shall be due no later than June 15, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT. Proposals for this solicitation are required to be submitted through NASA’s Enterprise File Sharing and Sync Box (EFSS Box), a FedRAMP Moderate certified platform. Potential offerors, especially those that have not previously submitted a proposal utilizing NASA’s EFSS Box, are encouraged to review the solicitation instruction entitled “Electronic Proposal Delivery – Proposal Marking and Delivery Through NASA’s EFSS Box” which provides instructions related to the submission of proposal via EFSS Box. Offerors are encouraged to check with their corporate IT staff to determine if there are firewall restrictions that would need to be addressed prior to the submission of proposal files through NASA’s EFSS Box.
This Final Request for Proposal pertains to the Mars Telecommunication Network Draft Request for Proposal previously issued on April 02, 2026, under Notice ID 80GSFC26R0011, which is accessible via the SAM.gov link provided below.
https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/ecfbfeda4acb4d26a1a5653b2df43e5e/view
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Notice history
| Notice | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| This notice | Solicitation | |
| Draft RFP - Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN) | Solicitation | |
| Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN) | Pre-Solicitation |
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| Opportunity | Agency | Set-aside | Responses due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unified Network and Navigation Operations (UNNO) Request for Information | Marshall Space Flight Center | No set-aside |
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