The Space Development Agency (SDA) has renamed its proliferated LEO constellation as the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, or PWSA. Logo: SDA

The Space Development Agency (SDA) on July 1 released the Europa solicitation for prototype space vehicles, seeking proposals for advanced communication protocols, and commercial solutions based on government taskings.

The Tranche 2 Demonstration and Experimentation (T2DES) Europa program will provide lessons for future SDA constellations, the agency said. The procurement is limited to pre-screened vendors on the Hybrid Acquisition of Low-Earth Orbit (HALO) contract vehicle.

The T2DES Europa will award Other Transaction Agreements in two areas, advanced tactical waveforms, and commercial solutions. For the first track SDA wants proposals for a two-satellite demonstration. The agency previously said that Europa would “prove the feasibility and scalability of more capable S-band waveforms.”

The tactical waveform effort would entail 12 to 18 months of development and testing, followed by at least a year of on-orbit testing. The spacecraft would be contractor owned and operated.

The commercial solutions track would involve around six months of on-orbit demonstrations coming three to six months after contract award. The government would submit tasking and receive data products as a service, the solicitation says. The second track would also consist of contractor owned and operated assets.

A notional schedule released by SDA says that offerors must submit executive summaries by July 28. SDA will use the summaries to pick a smaller pool of vendors whose proposals will be due by Aug. 29. Award decisions are expected by Oct. 14.

SDA previously selected 19 companies to compete for work within HALO, a hybrid acquisition pool that allows the SDA to solicit prototypes and experimentations from non-traditional space companies.

This story was first published by Defense Daily