Space Data Network (SDN) Industry Consortium for Space-to-Space Communications

1. Purpose and Program Background

The Space Systems Command’s Space Data Network Backbone (SDN-B) program office is fielding a proliferated, integrated, vendor-diverse space-to-space communications mesh in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) leveraging commercial product baselines from across the industrial base. This mesh forms the critical communications backbone of the Space Data Network (SDN).

SDN-B has established the Space Data Network (SDN) Industry Consortium to cultivate a collaborative public-private partnership focused on addressing high-priority technical integration and architectural challenges across the proliferated LEO (pLEO) space-to-space communications mesh.

This announcement is an open, one-step call for white papers to serve as market intelligence, informing the Government of the capabilities of the industrial base to meet current and future SDN requirements. Based on this market intelligence, the Government may onboard individual companies into the SDN consortium.

2. Consortium Construct & Terms of Participation

Agreement Mechanism: Selected industry members will enter the consortium as Associate Members under a $0-value Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) executed pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 4022.

Scope of Engagement: Consortium members will participate in regular collaborative forums, technical working groups, and architectural interchange meetings chaired by the Government. Activities include technical interoperability assessments, standards formulation, risk reduction discussions, and multi-vendor on-ramp coordination.

Agreements & Non-Disclosure: Participating organizations will be required to execute Associate Contractor Agreements (ACAs) and implement Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) and proprietary information protection strategies to enable cross-industry and Government information exchange.

Nature of Notice: This notice does not constitute a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) or a commitment by the Government to fund any development. Membership does not guarantee future contract awards or delivery orders.

3. Technical Focus Areas

Submissions must directly demonstrate how the respondent’s current or planned commercial capabilities, roadmaps, and technologies align with and contribute to the SDN architecture across one or more of the following domains:

• Proliferated Space Architecture
• Space Networking & Routing
• Optical Inter-Satellite Links (OISL)
• Radio Frequency (RF) Mesh & Communications
• Payload Hosting & Interface Standardization
• Ground Architecture & Space-Ground Entry
• RF Antennas and Receivers
• Cybersecurity & Cross-Domain Security

4. Eligibility Requirements

Ownership: Consortium membership is strictly restricted to U.S.-owned and operated entities. Foreign-owned, foreign-controlled, or foreign-influenced companies are not eligible.

Information Handling & Security Clearances:

• Baseline Minimum: Respondents must possess existing facilities, systems, and personnel infrastructure capable of storing, processing, and transmitting information at a minimum of the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) level (in compliance with NIST SP 800-171 / DoD CMMC standards).
• Higher-Level Capabilities Welcomed: Capabilities to hold and process classified information (e.g., Secret, Top Secret / SCI, and associated Facility Security Clearances (FCL) exceed the minimum threshold. Respondents holding higher clearances and secure facilities should annotate their current safeguarding and facility clearance levels in their cover sheet and white paper for future collaboration planning.

SAM Registration: Respondents must possess an active entity registration in SAM.gov under NAICS 541715 prior to submission.

5. Submission Instructions and Format

This is a streamlined, single-step process. Respondents shall submit a concise package strictly conforming to the following volume and page constraints:

Volume

Content

Page Limit

Format

Cover Sheet

Administrative details, CAGE, UEI, points of contact (POCs), CUI/Clearance level declaration

1 page

PDF

White Paper

Technical contribution and commercial alignment to SDN

2 pages max

PDF

Contextual Pitch Deck (Optional)

Commercial product background / architecture context

Up to 10 content slides

(include a cover slide if submitted)

PDF or PPTX

Page and Document Formatting:

Cover Sheet (1 Page): Must include company name, CAGE code, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), corporate address, confirmation of 100% U.S. ownership, affirmation of CUI processing capability (including notation of any higher facility/personnel clearances held), and designated Technical and Contracting POCs (name, title, phone, email).

White Paper (2 Pages Maximum): Must succinctly answer:

Consortium Contribution: How the organization can contribute technical expertise, test capabilities, facilities, tools, or data to the consortium.

Architecture Alignment: How the organization’s current or planned commercial products, independent research and development (IR&D), and architectures align with the SDN pLEO mesh baseline.

Formatting: 8.5 x 11-inch pages, 1-inch margins, minimum 11-point font (tables/graphics no smaller than 9-point). Pages exceeding the 2-page limit will not be reviewed or evaluated.

Contextual Pitch Deck (Optional, up to 10 Slides): Respondents may attach an excerpt of up to ten (10) slides from their commercial or government briefing/pitch deck to provide additional visual context on technology readiness or architectural topologies.  A single title/cover slide should be included and does not count against the 10-slide limit.

6. Submission Delivery & Inquiries

Submissions must be delivered no later than 23 November 2026 at 17:00 Pacific Time (PT). Late submissions will not be reviewed.

Submissions may be delivered via either of the following methods:

Direct Email: Submit unclassified/non-CUI packages directly via email to all designated Government POCs listed below with the subject line: [SDN Consortium White Paper] - [Company Name].

DoD SAFE Drop-Off (Mandatory for CUI submissions): To transmit CUI or file sizes exceeding email limits, respondents must send an email to all POCs below requesting a DoD SAFE drop-off no later than 3 business days prior to the close date with the subject line: [SDN Consortium DoD SAFE Request] - [Company Name]. Submissions via DoD SAFE must be encrypted.

7. Market Intelligence & Consortium Membership

The Government will use this market intelligence to determine the industrial base’s ability to meet current and future SDN-B requirements. As a result of the review of the Government research, the Government may choose to onboard consortium members. The Government reserves the right to invite zero, one, some, or all respondents to join the consortium.

 The Government makes consortium onboarding decisions based on the following:

• Applicability & Relevance: Direct technical applicability of the proposed capabilities to the SDN proliferated LEO mesh architecture.
• Commercial & Technical Maturity: Credibility, maturity, and on-ramp feasibility of the vendor’s commercial offerings or near-term roadmaps.
• Consortium Value: Ability and willingness of the vendor to actively collaborate, share interface insights, and support multi-vendor standards.

8. Use of Non-Government Advisors

Respondents are advised that data submitted in response to this notice may be released to non-Government advisors supporting SSC/SZW under existing advisory and assistance contracts. All non-Government advisors are bound by Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and organizational conflict of interest terms prohibiting them from engaging in SSC-sponsored commercial competition:

• ACT-1
• AirIn Technologies, Inc.
• Alpha 2, Inc.
• Altus LLC
• Amentum Services, Inc. (formerly CENTRA)
• ARK Government Solutions Inc.
• Booz Allen Hamilton
• Bryce Space & Technology, LLC
• Custom Analysis LLC
• Emolbi, LLC
• Full Rev LLC
• GoLion Company
• IDFP Enterprises, Inc.
• KBR (Trinzic)
• LinQuest Corporation
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lincoln Laboratory (MIT/LL)
• MMAX, Inc.
• MTSI
• PL Consulting, Inc.
• QinetiQ
• Qualis Corporation
• SAVI, LLC
• Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
• Sigmatech, Inc.
• Space Systems Integration, LLC
• Space Analysis, Inc.
• Stellar Solutions
• Strategic Engineering Solutions, LLC
• Tecolote
• TEC Solutions, LLC
• The Aerospace Corporation
• The Stacia Group, LLC
• The MITRE Corporation
• Zachary Piper Solutions

Any objection to the release of information to these non-Government advisors must be submitted in writing to the Agreements Officer within five (5) calendar days of notice publication, identifying the specific advisor and detailed basis for objection.

9. Points of Contact

Procuring Contracting / Agreements Officer (PCO/AO): Melanie Gipson
 Space Systems Command (SSC/SW)
 Email: melanie.gipson@spaceforce.mil

Contracting / Agreements Specialist: Leslie Semerena

Space Systems Command (SSC/SW)

Email: melanie.gipson@spaceforce.mil

Government Program Manager (PM): Maj Foster Davis
 Space Systems Command (SSC/SW)
 Email: foster.davis@spaceforce.mil

Technical Point of Contact (TPOC): Ryan Colburn
 Space Systems Command (SSC/SW)
 Email: ryan.colburn.1.ctr@spaceforce.mil