Ground Station as a Service
Updated
Sources Sought from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, for work in Silver Spring, Maryland. Due Nov 5, 2026, 3:00 PM (UTC-5), 14 days left.
| Solicitation number | 1332KP27DGSAAS |
|---|---|
| Agency | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
| Office | Dept of Commerce NOAA |
| Notice type | Sources Sought |
| Set-aside | None |
| Trade (NAICS) | All Other Telecommunications (517810) |
| Place of performance | Silver Spring, Maryland |
| Posted | Oct 21, 2026 |
| Response deadline | Nov 5, 2026, 3:00 PM (UTC-5) (14 days left) |
| Add the deadline to | Google Calendar · Apple / Outlook (.ics) |
Official notice and attachments
Description
The Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), Office of Satellite and Product Operations (OSPO) intends to award a sole-source, firm-fixed-price contract with a magnitude ranging from $7M to $10M to ATLAS Space Operations Inc., (UEI: LUU8R95P3JM3). The requirement is to procure scalable telemetry, tracking and command aperture services to deliver Satellite-to-Ground Communication Services.
This requirement supports OSPO in accomplishing its mission of delivering environmental data from remote platforms. The scope encompasses site certification, telemetry downlink data services, and satellite commanding data services to satisfy future NESDIS requirements for commercial remote telemetry downlink for partner missions. Key supported missions include, but are not limited to: COSMIC-2, (the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology Ionosphere and Climate-2)/FORMOSAT-7 KOMPSAT-5, Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite-5 (KOMPSAT-5), and PAZ, Spanish Earth Observation Satellite The proposed contract action will be conducted using other than full and open competition procedures pursuant to the authority at 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1), as implemented by the Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul (RFO) Subpart 6.103-1,Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services will satisfy agency requirements.
Justification for Non-Competitive Action: ATLAS is the only vendor that possesses the established, fully compliant ground station network and operational authorizations required to fulfill NOAA's mission objectives without catastrophic schedule disruption and unrecoverable cost growth. ATLAS currently holds all active, validated, and fully compliant international spectrum licenses and host-nation operating authorizations across the required equatorial downlink footprint.
These authorizations are non-transferable. ATLAS represents the only evaluated source possessing the fully qualified, operational front-end processor architectures, automated scheduling APIs, and verified performance thresholds required to meet NESDIS data delivery requirements without introducing unacceptable integration costs, programmatic delays, and mission-critical data loss risks.
Notice to Interested Sources: This Notice of Intent (NOI) is not a request for competitive proposals or quotations. However, in accordance with RFO 5.101, all responsible sources may submit a capability statement, which shall be considered by the agency. Information received will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.
A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Response Instructions: Capability statements or responses must be submitted electronically via email to the Contracting Officer to Ms. Trang Tran, at [email protected] with a courtesy copy to Ms. Markita Simmonds, Contracting Specialist, at [email protected].
Submissions must clearly demonstrate the technical capability, active international spectrum licenses, and host-nation authorizations required to meet the Government’s technical objectives. Concerned parties should address any questions, issues, disagreements, or recommendations to the Contracting Officer.
Contracting contact
- Trang Tran · [email protected]
- Markita Simmonds · [email protected]
As published on the official notice. Ask questions in writing and before any questions deadline the notice sets.
Is your business small enough?
For NAICS 517810, a business counts as small if it has no more than $40.0 million in average annual receipts (SBA size standard). This notice is set aside, so only businesses under that size, or in the named program, can bid. SBA table, current as of Oct 15, 2026.
Companies that win this kind of work
Federal contractors paid for all other telecommunications work, who also hold NOAA contracts (last 12 months): possible competitors, or partners to team with.
- Peraton Inc. $144.5 million in this trade
- The Regents Of The University Of Colorado $4.3 million in this trade
- Simba Enterprises LLC $936,545 in this trade
- L3HARRIS Technologies, Inc. $136,795 in this trade
- University Corporation For Advanced Internet Development $39,833 in this trade
About the buyer
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded $2.5 billion in contracts in the last 12 months; its biggest suppliers were Peraton Inc., Lockheed Martin Corporation and Earth Resources Technology, LLC. See what NOAA is buying now.
All Other Telecommunications contracts right now
There are 5 open government contract opportunities in this trade (NAICS 517810), 4 posted in the last 7 days; 80% are set aside for small businesses. The agencies buying the most are Department of the Air Force, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs. Most of the work with a stated place is in Georgia, Maryland and Colorado.
All open all other telecommunications contracts
Coming up in this trade
Planned contracts from the agencies' procurement forecasts, often months before a solicitation. Plans can change.
Recent awards in this trade
- The Boeing Company $22.0 million · Department of the Air Force · Sep 30, 2026
From the award notices agencies publish.