SOLICITATION NOTICE
99 -- Unmanned Aircraft Satellite Communication (SatCom) Command and Control System Development
- Notice Date
- 7/14/2016
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 517410
— Satellite Telecommunications
- Contracting Office
- NASA/Glenn Research Center, 21000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, Ohio, 44135
- ZIP Code
- 44135
- Solicitation Number
- NNC16AA02AJG
- Point of Contact
- Melissa A Merrill, Phone: 2164336359
- E-Mail Address
-
melissa.a.merrill@nasa.gov
(melissa.a.merrill@nasa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- A CAN notice will be posted to NSPIRES on or about August 1 to propose for the Unmanned Aircraft Satellite Communication (SatCom) Command and Control System Development procurement. See the brief description below. The desire and ability to fly Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) is of increasing urgency. The application of unmanned aircraft to perform national security, defense, scientific, and emergency management are driving the critical need for less restrictive access by UAS to the NAS. UAS represent a new capability that will provide a variety of services in the government (public) and commercial (civil) aviation sectors. The growth of this potential industry has not yet been realized due to the lack of a common understanding of what is required to safely operate UAS in the NAS. To address this deficiency, NASA has established a Project called UAS Integration in the NAS (UAS in the NAS), under the Integrated Aviation Systems Program (IASP) of the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD). The Project goal is to provide research findings supporting the development and validation of detect and avoid (DAA) and command and control (C2) technologies necessary for integrating UAS into the NAS with airborne system tests. The next phase of the UAS-NAS Project will continue to focus on DAA and C2 technologies that are ready to be transitioned to implementation on unmanned vehicles, specifically to develop RTCA Special Committee (SC) - 228 Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS). To that end, integrated flight tests in FY18 and FY19 and simulations throughout the remainder of the project are planned to support the development of the standards. This project provides an opportunity to transition concepts, technology, algorithms, and knowledge to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other stakeholders to help them define the requirements, regulations, and issues for routine UAS NAS access. Existing Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR), procedures, and technologies do not allow routine UAS access to the NAS. Access to the NAS is hampered by challenges such as the lack of an on-board pilot to see and avoid other aircraft, the reliance on command and control (C2) links used primarily by the military, and the wide variation in UAS size and performance (altitudes, speeds, and duration at which UAS operate). In order for UAS to integrate seamlessly in the NAS, major technical and regulatory challenges must be resolved. Challenges relevant to this solicitation include, but are not limited to: • Ensuring adequate separation assurance (sense and avoid - obstacles, weather, etc.) • Ensuring adequate collision avoidance • Ensuring robust and secure communications technologies • Solving the constraints of frequency spectrum allocation • Developing certification standards for a wide range of UAS vehicle types • Developing Ground Control Stations modifications for NAS compliance The UAS in the NAS Communications Subproject addresses several of these issues. The safe and efficient integration of UAS into the NAS requires new RF spectrum allocations and a new data communications system which is both secure and scalable. The C2 link will be used to exchange information between the unmanned aircraft and the ground control station, to ensure safe, reliable, and effective unmanned aircraft flight operation. The focus of the Communications Subproject is on validating and allocating new RF spectrum and data link communications to enable civil UAS integration into the NAS. The goal is to validate secure, robust data links within the satellite communications (SatCom) frequency spectrum being targeted for civil UAS. RTCA Special Committee (SC) 228 is starting to develop standards for SatCom technologies and architectures, building on the previous work performed under the RTCA SC-203. A vision, architectural concepts, and "seed" requirements for the future civil UAS command and control communication system were developed by SC-203 and refined for terrestrial UAS communications under SC-228. NASA intends to conduct its research and development in keeping with this vision and associated architectural concepts, while partnering with industry to develop and test prototype UAS C2 SatCom systems. These prototype communication systems will be used to validate/update the initial SC-228 requirements in order to provide a foundation for SC-228's Minimum Operational System Performance Standards (MOPS) documentation. Further, the International Telecommunications Union - Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) has provided potential new spectrum allocations within the Fixed Satellite Service in the Ku and Ka Bands that may be used for UAS CNPC links in non-segregated airspace at the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference, but requiring the specification of some performance requirements before these allocations can be finalized (WRC-15 Resolution 155). These prototype UAS C2 SatCom systems will provide performance data to support the ITU-R performance specifications. NASA, with its industry partners, will be applying state-of-the-art communication system technologies, which have promise for inclusion in an operational environment, to design/develop/test a prototype UAS SatCom system. This prototype system must be designed to address the initial "seed" requirements from SC-228 and must be on a path to certification. The C2 SatCom data-link system must be designed to scale with increasing UAS traffic and without impacting the ATC communication system, and must demonstrate successful operation within internationally allocated frequency spectrum.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/NASA/GRC/OPDC20220/NNC16AA02AJG/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Contractor, United States
- Record
- SN04182537-W 20160716/160714234745-0dc23bcd934b1f5c8affa204f40f20d2 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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