A number of companies in both the satellite manufacturing and operating realms responded to the Air Force’s hosted payload solutions (HoPS) request for proposals (RFP), which is aimed at providing opportunities to place government payloads on commercial satellites.
The Air Force said in an Aug. 1 notice posted on Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) that it anticipates the award of a multiple-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract that facilitates the matching of government payloads currently in development with commercial satellites using commercial timelines. The HoPS contract will procure both a fully-functioning on-orbit hosted payload system and integrated ground system equipment and interfaces that deliver payload data to the government end users.
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| Lockheed Martin, developer of the pictured Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) communications satellite, said it responded to the Air Force’s hosted payloads solutions RFP. Photo: Lockheed Martin. |
The Air Force said it anticipates firm-fixed-price contracts to be awarded June 2, 2014. Mark Valerio, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] military space business, told Defense Daily recently Air Force Space and Missile Command (AFSMC) will select nine contractors for work on a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite and five for a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite. Valerio also said contractors who “win” the first phase essentially get placed in a catalog, so if there is an opportunity to host a payload in the future, they’ll have the opportunity to compete again to perform integration.
Satellite manufacturer Lockheed Martin said in a statement it responded to the solicitation, for which proposals were due earlier this week. Valerio the company believes it has a great shot because Lockheed Martin has been doing hosted payloads for over three decades and over multiple different missions, customers and orbit regimes. Valerio added that not only has Lockheed Martin provided satellites, but it also has the capability to provide ground systems.
“We believe we have the expertise, knowledge and experience and that this is right in our sweet spot to help the government make this happen,” Valerio said.
Diana Ball, a spokeswoman for satellite manufacturer Boeing [BA], declined Monday to say whether Boeing responded to the RFP due to competition sensitivities. Satellite manufacturer Space Systems/Loral responded to the RFP, according to company spokeswoman Wendy Lewis.
Satellite operators Intelsat General and XTAR both said they responded to the RFP. XTAR told Defense Daily in an email though it applauded AFSMC for continuing to innovate in its pursuit of efficient deployment of satellite communication (SATCOM) resources, it saw two key issues involved with HoPS: The government needs to consider the largest number of possible government requirements (Defense Department, NASA, among others) in this process and the ensuring contracts. This, XTAR said, will help ensure commercial industry can include all of its best commercial practices in delivering critical space capabilities to all potential government workers.
XTAR also said industry can best benefit from the government’s use of hosted payloads by having the opportunity to leverage the largest number of commercial platforms available, including all trusted satellite operators and not just those who may receive a prime contract. Contracts under HoPS, XTAR said, should enable the widest use of technology and satellite platforms to provide the strongest, most resilient service with the most cost efficient technology.
Intelsat General is a subsidiary of Intelsat S.A. [I]