BACKGROUND - NASA IS SEEKING INFORMATION AND EVALUATION OF PROCESSES, PROCEDURES, AND STRATEGIES TO IDENTIFY AND MORE EFFICIENTLY CONTROL THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE SPACE SYSTEMS ADVANCED COMMUNICATION NETWORKS AND PROTOCOLS, INCLUDING LUNAR SURFACE SYSTEMS (LSS) AND COMMERCIAL ORBITAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS (COTS). AS AN EXAMPLE, THE INDUSTRIAL BASIS FOR COTS WILL RELY ON INDUSTRY ACCEPTED STANDARDS FOR COMMUNICATION AND DATA HANDLING WHICH ARE LIKELY TO DIFFER FROM HISTORIC NASA APPROACHES. THEREFORE, NASA WILL NEED TO DEVELOP A NEW APPROACH IN WHICH TO ACQUIRE AND OPERATE COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE VEHICLES AND INTEGRATE THIS INTO EXISTING DEDICATED SYSTEMS. SCOPE - THE CONTRACTOR SHALL UTILIZE THEIR TECHNICAL EXPERTISE AND SIMULATION TOOLS TO PERFORM ANALYSES, MODELING, AND SIMULATIONS TO ASSIST NASA IN DEVELOPING AND EVALUATING THE DESIGN, REQUIREMENTS, FUNCTIONALITY, PROCESSES AND TESTING METHODOLOGY OF ADVANCED COMMUNICATION NETWORKS AND PROTOCOLS APPLICABLE TO FUTURE COMMERCIAL ORBITAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS (COTS) INCLUDING LUNAR SURFACE SYSTEMS (LSS). THROUGH PILOT PROGRAMS INVOLVING PROCUREMENT AND TESTING OF SELECTED COMPONENTS AND SUBSYSTEMS, THE CONTRACTOR SHALL DEMONSTRATE THE POSITIVE IMPACT OF NEW APPROACHES TO DEVELOPMENT. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL USE THE PILOT PROGRAMS TO PROVIDE NASA WITH METRICS TO SHAPE FUTURE ENGINEERING, BUSINESS, AND PROCUREMENT STRATEGIES THAT WILL SUPPORT A SUSTAINABLE SPACE ECONOMY. SPECIFICALLY, THE CONTRACTOR WILL DEMONSTRATE THE TECHNIQUES AND TECHNOLOGY NECESSARY FOR SUBSYSTEMS WITHIN A SPACE VEHICLE SYSTEM TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE VEHICLES CONTROL SYSTEM. INSTEAD OF USING CABLING, AS IN TRADITIONAL DESIGN, THE VEHICLE WILL USE WIRELESS NETWORKS TO SEND SIGNALS TO THE VARIOUS SUBSYSTEMS TO AFFECT VEHICLE FUNCTIONS. SPACECRAFT ALREADY SEND TELEMETRY DATA FROM SPACE TO EARTH WIRELESSLY. THE INTENT OF THIS DEMONSTRATION IS TO HAVE A SELF CONTAINED SYSTEM THAT COMMUNICATES WITHIN THE SPACECRAFT ITSELF. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PARTICIPATE, AS REQUIRED, IN VARIOUS TECHNICAL TEAM AND WORKING GROUP MEETINGS, AND PARTICIPATE IN MONTHLY REVIEWS AND / OR TELECONS AS REQUIRED TO COLLECT THE REQUIRED INFORMATION FOR SUPPORTING THESE TASKS.