NASA Awards Contract to SES Government Solutions for its Communications Services Project
SES Government Solutions to Support Future Near-Earth Communication Mission Requirements.
Reston, Va. 10 May 2022 – SES Government Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES, has been granted a NASA Communications Services Project (CSP) award to support the development and demonstration of near-Earth communication services in support of the agency’s future mission needs.
SES Government Solutions is partnering with Planet Labs and their future Pelican satellite constellation to develop a real time always-on low-rate connectivity solution with SES Government Solutions’s geostationary (GEO) and a real-time high-rate connectivity solution with O3B mPOWER medium earth orbit (MEO) constellations to further future NASA missions. Planet brings over a decade of experience in designing and manufacturing cutting-edge low-cost Earth Observation satellites and radio communication systems.
Of the $278.5 million total contract value for NASA’s CSP, awarded to six different commercial satellite communications (SATCOM) providers, SES Government Solutions has been awarded $28.96 million. SES Government Solutions’s proposed approach demonstrates commercial radio frequency GEO orbiting C-band and MEO Ka-band relay networks for SATCOM services to spacecraft in low earth orbit. These services include routine missions, contingency operations, launch and ascent, and early operations phase communications.
SES Government Solutions will complete technology development and in-space demonstrations by 2025 to prove its proposed solution will deliver robust, reliable, and cost-effective mission-oriented operations, including the ability for new high-rate and high-capacity two-way communications. NASA intends to seek multiple long-term contracts to acquire services for near-Earth operations by 2030, while phasing out NASA owned & operated systems.
“We are excited to showcase our next generation O3b’s mPOWER MEO satellite constellation that will leverage its high data rates, with low latency Ka-band data relay communications to and from near-Earth orbit NASA assets,” said President and CEO of SES Government Solutions, Brigadier General Pete Hoene, USAF (retired). “Combining the capabilities of SES, the world’s largest satellite owner/operator with that of Planet, one of the world’s leading commercial imaging companies, will create the world’s first high-throughput commercial space relay service to LEO enabling timely and data-driven decisions.”
For further information please contact:
Jon Bennett
Government Affairs, Marketing & Corporate Communications, SES Government Solutions
Tel. +1 703 610 0998
Jon.Bennett@sessd.com
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About SES Government Solutions
SES Government Solutions is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES, the leader in global content connectivity solutions. SES Government Solutions operates under a proxy board allowing them to provide services through contracts with the U.S. Government, including classified work. SES Government Solutions is exclusively focused on meeting the satellite communications needs of the U.S. Government. Leveraging more than four decades of experience in the government SATCOM market, SES Government Solutions offers robust and secure end-to-end satellite communications solutions. Further information can be found at www.sessd.com
About SES
SES has a bold vision to deliver amazing experiences everywhere on earth by distributing the highest quality video content and providing seamless connectivity around the world. As the leader in global content connectivity solutions, SES operates the world’s only multi-orbit constellation of satellites with the unique combination of global coverage and high performance, including the commercially-proven, low-latency Medium Earth Orbit O3b system. By leveraging a vast and intelligent, cloud-enabled network, SES is able to deliver high-quality connectivity solutions anywhere on land, at sea or in the air, and is a trusted partner to the world’s leading telecommunications companies, mobile network operators, governments, connectivity and cloud service providers, broadcasters, video platform operators and content owners. SES’s video network carries over 8,200 channels and has an unparalleled reach of 361 million households, delivering managed media services for both linear and non-linear content. The company is listed on Paris and Luxembourg stock exchanges (Ticker: SESG).
About Planet Labs PBC
Planet is the leading provider of global, daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions. Planet is driven by a mission to image all of Earth’s landmass every day, and make global change visible, accessible and actionable. Planet provides mission-critical data, advanced insights, and software solutions to over 700 customers, comprising the world’s leading agriculture, forestry, intelligence, education and finance companies and government agencies, enabling users to simply and effectively derive unique value from satellite imagery. To learn more visit www.planet.com and follow us on Twitter at @planet.