Intent to Sole Source - Lunar Exploration Ground Sites (LEGS) Public Private Partnership (PPP)

NASA Glenn Research Center intends to sole-source a contract to KSAT Inc. under FAR 6.103-1 for Lunar Exploration Ground Sites (LEGS), a public-private partnership to develop a global network of direct-to-Earth communications ground stations, with capabilities and qualifications submissions due by 3:00 PM ET on October 30, 2026. No other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements; the Government may use this response period to evaluate whether to conduct acquisition on a competitive basis.

LEGS will provide high-availability communications coverage for spacecraft operating between 36,000 kilometers and 2 million kilometers from Earth, supporting NASA's Moon-to-Mars architecture. The system operates at X-band and Ka-band frequencies with simultaneous dual-band capability, radiometric services (1-way and 2-way Doppler, PN ranging), and autotrack handovers per CCSDS standards. Performance metrics include G/T of 39 dB/K (X-band) and 47.5 dB/K (Ka-band), return bit-error rate of 10^-5 uncoded and 10^-9 coded, system availability of 0.98 for critical events and 0.95 for non-critical events, with 95 percent of service outages restored within one hour. Return latency is 1 second; forward latency is 125 milliseconds.

The contractor will procure, integrate, and operate a network of six dual-band antennas globally distributed, achieving full global coverage with three operational sites by October 15, 2027, and six fully redundant antennas by October 15, 2028. NASA provides two 20-meter government-furnished dual-band antennas—LEGS 1 at White Sands Complex in New Mexico (ready for site acceptance testing) and LEGS 2 (in storage). The contractor is responsible for monitor and control equipment, signal processing, network infrastructure, antenna integration, facility requirements, and defining communications interfaces to Johnson Space Center Mission Control Center and Goddard Space Flight Center Flight Dynamics Facility via the SCaN Program Operations Cloud. The contract period is five years from award.

Place of performance includes White Sands Complex, New Mexico, and four additional global ground-station locations to be established by the contractor. Contractor personnel must comply with personnel security clearances, access badging, and facility safety protocols per NFPA and ICC standards. The Government will acquire using FAR Part 12 commercial product or service procedures. Interested organizations submit capabilities and qualifications to Ian Park, Contracting Officer, at HQ-SCaN-LEGS@mail.nasa.gov by October 30, 2026. NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, applies; the Center Ombudsman listing is available at https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf.