SatVu thermal imagery of the Quzhou airfield in Zhejiang Province, China. Photo: SatVu

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) on Tuesday said it has awarded contracts to HEO, SatVu and Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) to provide commercial satellite-based remote sensing capabilities, marking the first of three tranches of awards for multi-phenomenology remote sensing solutions.

The contract award value is $300,000 for HEO and SatVu, and $299,878.35 for SNC, NRO said in a response to questions. The base contract period runs from Feb. 1 through Oct. 31, 2026, with options for extension based on performance, an agency spokesperson said.

NRO said the awards under its Strategic Commercial Enhancements Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) for integrated multi-phenomenology sensing solutions issued last July begin with a modeling and simulation stage and will be followed by a second stage for studies of the companies’ respective on-orbit capabilities and products to meet mission needs.

“Budget permitting, NRO anticipates issuing additional awards later this year to expand these multi-phenomenology capabilities,” NRO said.

HEO will provide NRO with non-Earth imagery. The company’s software is used on other vendors’ satellites for satellite-to-satellite imaging.

SatVu’s award is for medium-wave infrared imagery and SNC will provide radio frequency sensing. SNC’s Vindler constellation in Low-Earth Orbit detects and geo-locates RF emissions on Earth.

The new awards under the CSO complement earlier contracts NRO made with commercial remote sensing providers under Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs).

“The NRO is using a variety of acquisition processes and contract models to bring in new talent and providers and cut the time from concept to delivery,” Pete Meund, director of the agency’s Commercial Systems Program Office, said in a statement. “We are excited to continue advancing our mission by gaining new commercial capabilities and strengthening ties with commercial providers, while collaborating closely with our mission providers.”

Previously, NRO awarded BAAs under Strategic Commercial Enhancement efforts for single phenomenologies, including RF sensing in September 2022, radar in January 2022, electro-optical sensing in December 2023 and hyperspectral imaging in March 2023.

NRO highlighted that while the BAAs had structured timelines for submitting proposals, the CSO has a rolling five-year window for proposals that is always open.

This story was first published by Defense Daily