Editor’s note: This story was updated. A previous version of this article said the demonstration involves Starlink satellites. The demonstration does not involve Starlink satellites but government-owned communications satellites
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force’s procurement arm has opened a competition for companies to design a compact radio-frequency (RF) terminal for inter-satellite communications, according to a solicitation published Sept. 16.
The Space Systems Command (SSC), through its spectrum warfare office, said the project is in support of Golden Dome, a missile defense shield directed by President Trump in an executive order that envisions a constellation of interceptor satellites capable of detecting, tracking and destroying hostile missiles shortly after launch.
The planned demonstration would use radio-frequency communications terminals to establish satellite-to-satellite links between a government-owned communications satellite and a mock space-based interceptor (SBI).
According to the broad agency announcement (BAA), SSC is seeking low size, weight and power (SWaP) radios that can be demonstrated on-orbit within 12 months. The radios must operate in the L- and S-band spectrum and use Link-182.
According to industry sources, Link-182 is a government waveform developed for the MILNET low-Earth orbit satellite communications system, a constellation of government-owned satellites reportedly made by SpaceX.
“The government believes that the best approach for a low size, weight, and power (SWaP) solution in support of Golden Dome space-based interceptor (SBI) risk reduction and notional comm requirements will fall within the L/S-band spectrum and use the Link-182 waveform,” the BAA stated.
The L/S bands are used in military and commercial applications because they provide more reliable signals in contested or degraded environments, including jamming, poor weather or during close-proximity maneuvers with other spacecraft.
The radios must be space-qualified, carry Type-1 encryption, and be capable of operating across orbits ranging from low Earth orbit (LEO) to geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO). Contractors are expected to rely on high-heritage components to meet the accelerated schedule.
SSC is asking vendors to demonstrate a LEO-to-LEO space-to-space communications link between a Link-182 payload and a Link-182-compatible radio hosted on a vendor satellite simulating an interceptor. An additional requirement is development of an Application Programming Interface (API) to enable pointing between the two payloads.
Competitive process
A BAA is a competitive contracting mechanism typically used by the U.S. government for research and development projects. The first call for white papers under this announcement is titled “Link-182 space-to-space comms system development and demonstration,” with submissions due Oct. 6.
Phase 1 selections will be invited to submit full technical and cost proposals in Phase 2. The government envisions radios that could be manufactured at scale — up to 10,000 units — within two to five years, pointing to Golden Dome’s potential as a large-scale missile defense architecture.
While the Golden Dome program is managed by a separate Pentagon program office, the Space Systems Command has played a supporting role in industry outreach efforts, including issuing a recent request for information on space-based interceptor prototypes.