Brenda Marie Rivers
The Defense Innovation Unit is seeking prototype concepts for a processing system intended to translate spacecraft-obtained data transmitted through commercial gateways into a usable format for users in forward operating locations.
Submissions for the CASINO PED Ground Station prototype program should demonstrate a capacity to ingest data such as radar, alternate navigation, communications and electro-optical and near wave infrared signals from up to 20 overhead satellites, DIU said in an announcement.
The project will support the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s BLACKJACK initiative, which calls for the integration of sensor payload technology from the government into a commercially manufactured bus.
According to the notice, DIU intends to minimize reliance on exclusive communciations gateways through other commercial pathways that utilize both web and cloud-based capabilities.
DIU plans to award an other transaction agreement to a U.S. company and expects the project to facilitate the development of a processing capability that will be tested using overhead persistent infrared data.
Interested parties can submit applications through April 22 and must be able to ready their prototypes for data capture within 18 months of the award.
