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Sources Sought: Lunar Exploration Ground Sites (LEGS) Public Private Partnership
Contact and place of performance
Ian Park
USA
1. Purpose NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is conducting market research to identify capable commercial entities interested in supporting the Lunar Exploration Ground Sites (LEGS) Public Private Partnership (3Ps) initiative. This Sources Sought notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation or a commitment by the Government. NASA seeks infor...
View moreNASA is exploring partnership models that leverage commercial investment, infrastructure development, and operational expertise while enabling NASA mission support requirements.
3. Desired Capability Outcomes
NASA is interested in commercial approaches capable of achieving the following preliminary deployment objectives:
Phase 1: At minimum, three (3) lunar DTE ground stations providing continuous coverage capability should be operational by July 2027 to support initial NASA mission requirements.
Phase 2: A redundant architecture consisting of at minimum six (6) globally distributed lunar DTE ground stations (two per operational region) is desired by July 2028.
Phase 3: Expanded network capacity and resiliency consisting of up to nine (9) lunar DTE ground stations (three per operational region) is desired by July 2029.
Ground stations proposed under this effort may include infrastructure associated with Category 1.2 of the Near Space Network Services (NSNS) contract or other commercially available capabilities.
4. Preliminary Technical Characteristics
The following preliminary technical characteristics are provided for planning purposes only and may be refined in any future solicitation:
X-band and Ka-band uplink and downlink capabilities
Communications coverage extending from GEO through cislunar space to approximately 2 million km
Continuous coverage with geographically distributed ground sites
Integration into an operational service architecture capable of supporting NASA missions
High-availability operational support and sustainment
Scalable network operations capable of supporting multiple simultaneous users and future mission growth
5. Government-Furnished Property (GFP)
NASA anticipates providing the following Government-furnished property as part of the partnership:
One (1) LEGS antenna subsystem installed at NASA’s White Sands Complex in Las Cruces, New Mexico
Site Acceptance Testing (SAT) support for the first NASA-provided antenna subsystem
Manufacture and storage of a second LEGS antenna subsystem
NASA will retain ownership of Government-furnished antennas throughout the period of performance. Final disposition of Government-furnished property will occur in accordance with NASA direction at contract completion.
6. Desired Partnership Structure
NASA is considering a Public Private Partnership (3Ps) model under which commercial partners would provide operational communications services while leveraging both Government-furnished and commercially developed infrastructure. NASA currently anticipates the following preliminary partnership characteristics:
Firm-Fixed-Price contract structure for end-to-end communications services
Period of performance of no less than five (5) years
NASA mission priority over non-Government users
Ability of the partner to commercially utilize excess network capacity and provide services to non-NASA customers within the emerging cislunar and commercial space communications market.
NASA funding support for initial validation and integration activities associated with NASA-provided antennas
Contractor responsibility for all other development, infrastructure, operational, and sustainment costs
The Contractor would be responsible for:
Integration of NASA-provided assets into the operational service architecture
Installation of the second antenna subsystem
Supporting infrastructure
Operations, maintenance, sustainment, and lifecycle support
Property accountability and risk management
Development and deployment of additional ground stations required to achieve operational objectives
7. Capability Statement Instructions
Interested parties are invited to submit capability statements of no more than ten (10) pages. Capability statements should include, at minimum:
Company overview, organizational capabilities, and relevant experience supporting comparable communications, ground systems, or space infrastructure efforts, including current and previous projects or contracts demonstrating the ability to support the operational objectives described herein.
An assessment of the viability of the arrangement outlined above, and a description of potential partnership structures, technical approaches, and business arrangements that maximize mutual benefit while ensuring reliable, high-availability support for NASA mission needs.
Evaluation of realistic deployment schedules, associated technical and programmatic risks, and proposed mitigation strategies necessary to achieve NASA mission timelines.
Respondents are strongly encouraged to provide empirical proof of past performance to support schedule evaluation and technical capabilities.
Description of the extent to which the proposed services, infrastructure, and capabilities represent commercial or commercial-type products and services in accordance with FAR 2.101, Definitions.
Respondents may not submit confidential, proprietary, or export-controlled information, including International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR) restricted information, in responses to this Sources Sought
8. Acquisition Considerations
NASA GRC is seeking capability statements from all interested parties, including all socioeconomic categories of Small Businesses and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Institutions (MI) for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition and/or small business subcontracting goals for LEGS Public Private Partnership (3Ps).
The Government reserves the right to consider a Small, 8(a), Women-owned (WOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran (SD-VOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Women-owned Small Business (EDWOSB) or HUBZone business set-aside based on responses received.
9. Administrative Information
This Sources Sought notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as a commitment by the Government. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs associated with preparation or submission of responses. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation.
No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on SAM.gov. Interested firms are responsible for monitoring this website for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.
All responses shall be submitted electronically via email to Ian Park, Contracting Officer at [email protected] and Claude David at [email protected] no later than June 9, 2026, at 5:00 PM EDT. Please reference 80GRC026RFI0001 in any response.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Center is conducting market research to identify commercial entities for the Lunar Exploration Ground Sites (LEGS) Public Private Partnership initiative. This project aims to expand the Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) Program by augmenting Near Space Network capabilities for missions operating from Geostationary Orbit to cislunar space. The desired architecture supports the Artemis campaign and broader Moon-to-Mars objectives through high-availability direct-to-Earth communications. NASA is considering a firm-fixed-price contract structure for end-to-end services with a performance period of no less than five years, where the commercial partner provides operational services using both government-furnished and commercially developed infrastructure.
The initiative is structured across three deployment phases: Phase 1 requires at least three operational ground stations by July 2027; Phase 2 requires a redundant architecture of six globally distributed stations by July 2028; and Phase 3 seeks expanded capacity of up to nine stations by July 2029. Technical requirements include X-band and Ka-band uplink and downlink capabilities. NASA anticipates providing one antenna subsystem installed at the White Sands Complex in New Mexico and the manufacture of a second subsystem as government-furnished property. The commercial partner will be responsible for installing the second antenna, developing additional required infrastructure, and managing all operations, maintenance, and sustainment while retaining the ability to market excess capacity to non-government customers.
This Sources Sought notice, identified under solicitation number 80GRC026RFI0001, is classified under NAICS code 517810, All Other Telecommunications. The agency is seeking capability statements from all interested parties, including small businesses and various socioeconomic categories, to determine the appropriate level of competition and small business participation. Responses are due by June 9, 2026. The point of contact for this research is Ian Park, and the primary place of performance is the United States. No formal solicitation currently exists for this requirement.
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