Ka-band High Throughput System (KaHTS) Ground Bounce
Awarded Limited / Sole Source Justification Posted
- Solicitation number
- SSCPA2177
- Agency
-
Air Force
Department of Defense
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- Contract number
- FA254125DB021-FA254126FB093
- NAICS code
- 517410 Satellite Telecommunications
- Place of performance
- Hawthorne, California, United States
- Points of contact
-
- COMSO Contracting (SSC/CMK) ssc.pleo.contractinggateway@spaceforce.mil
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Department of the Air Force has awarded a firm-fixed-price task order to SpaceX under an Exception to Fair Opportunity for Ka-band High Throughput System (KaHTS) Ground Bounce throughput services, direct peering services, and on-site support services on a sole-source basis.
The justification invokes RFO 16.507-6(b)(6) and RFO 6.103-1, asserting that only one responsible source exists because award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of costs not expected to be recovered through competition. The Government previously procured, deployed, and installed KaHTS hardware at two sites that is only compatible with SpaceX's Starshield services. The requirement calls for at least 1 gigabit per second downlink and uplink at designated locations, service availability of not less than 99.5 percent, and end-to-end packet latency not exceeding 170 milliseconds. Direct peering services must connect to a separate designated point of presence; on-site support services will maintain hardware compatibility with Starshield services. The Government will acquire a license to commercial technical data deliverables including service availability reporting, operational activation notifications, and network operations monitoring. The base period of performance runs from August 31, 2026 through August 30, 2027. This task order is awarded under the Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (PLEO) Satellite-based Services multiple award contract, following a predecessor task order awarded to SpaceX by the Defense Information Systems Agency in mid-2025. The contracting officer will determine fair and reasonable pricing by comparing SpaceX's proposal to an independent government cost estimate and historical data.
Notice text
The Government requires Starshield KaHTS throughput services, direct peering services, and on-site support services. The Starshield KaHTS services are required to transmit high throughput, low latency service. The direct peering services are required to peer to a separate, designated point of presense. The on-site support services are required to ensure the KaHTS hardware is current, secure, and operable to transmit the KaHTS throughput services.
This action was approved under an Exception to Fair Opportunity to award a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) task order to SpaceX.
Awarded contract FA254125DB021 to unknown vendor for unknown amount on 2026-09-11.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| SBS005520_FOE_20260817_Redacted V2.pdf |
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