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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force is moving ahead with plans to tap commercial geostationary small-satellite constellations to bolster military communications, issuing a revised request for information on Sept. 15 for its Maneuverable Geosynchronous Orbit (MGEO) Commercial Satellite-Based Services program.
The effort, now in its second round of industry outreach, underscores the Pentagon’s growing concern over satellite resilience in contested environments, where adversaries might target U.S. space assets with electronic jamming and cyber threats. Contractors have until Oct. 17 to send submissions.
The MGEO program seeks to support mobile ground forces that may find themselves in battlefields where satellite communications signals are being jammed or disrupted, Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, commander of the Space Systems Command, told SpaceNews. “Our traditional GEO satellites are not very maneuverable. We are looking at small GEOs particularly in support of the Navy, the Marines and the Army in a contested environment.”
Companies in the commercial small GEO satellite sector says these spacecraft can be deployed faster, operated at lower cost, and maneuvered quickly to provide coverage over specific regions.
While MGEO is focused on procurement of commercial services, it runs in parallel with a separate acquisition known as Protected Tactical Satcom – Global (PTS-G) where the Space Force plans to acquire government-owned constellations of small GEO satellites. MGEO is focused on procuring services or to lease capacity from commercial providers, giving the military more flexibility without having to finance and operate all of the spacecraft itself.
The MGEO program specifically seeks solutions across both widely available and traditionally scarce spectrum — from UHF and VHF to Ku, Ka, V, W, and even optical bands. Several of these bands have historically been difficult to secure on the commercial market.
Toward a $900 million IDIQ
The service plans to select multiple vendors that will compete for orders under an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract estimated to be worth up to $900 million over 10 years. Vendors could be tasked with providing communications services, supplying new small or medium GEO spacecraft, or even repurposing traditional large satellites nearing end of life.
“As the national security of the United States and its mission partners becomes ever more reliant on space-based capabilities, it is necessary to move in the direction of resilient constellations that can absorb satellite losses without jeopardizing the mission,” the RFI stated.
The document also highlighted a shift in the commercial satcom market, which has moved away from leasing raw transponder capacity toward managed services. That change, while commercially efficient, poses a challenge for the military, since many of its secure waveforms are incompatible with managed services.
The revised RFI leaves open the possibility of integrating larger GEO spacecraft into the program, but stops short of requesting new builds. Instead, the government may seek access to older satellites that can still be repositioned and leased.
The question the Space Systems Command is asking, said Garrant, “is what satellites can we put up that are smaller, cheaper, operate in very specific frequencies, to fill those requirements in the next five to 10 years?”
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