Space Force Interested in Commercial Antennas to Control Satellites

The Space Force is starting a new competition to bolster its network of antennas that track and manage Pentagon and other U.S. government satellites—and this time, acquisition officials are open to leasing commercial systems or even paying for commercial antennas as a service.

In a Sept. 24 notice, the Space Force and the Missile Defense Agency announced they are resetting the Satellite Communications Augmentation Resource program with a “Commercial Solutions Opening.” Instead of providing a list of detailed requirements, these openings define “areas of interest,” inviting vendors to pitch ideas based on commercially available technology.

The SCAR program is the Space Force’s effort to “revitalize” its Cold War-era Satellite Control Network, a collection of 19 antennas dispersed around the globe that track and maneuver satellites and collect data about their health and status. The service awarded and later canceled a $1.4 billion contract for Blue Halo, now part of AeroVironment, to build and deliver 12 multibeam, phased-array antennas for SCAR.

After cancelling that deal in March, officials explained they wanted to leverage commercial technology rather than acquire a bespoke, Space Force-centric design. This latest announcement offers more details on the approch, detailing three “areas of interest” for the SCAR program:

A government-owned, contractor-operated model using commercial systems
Long-term, exclusive government leases of commercially owned and operated systems
“Antenna as a Service” giving the government access to commercial systems that could also be used by other customers

Each area of interest has benefits and drawbacks, the announcement states. Government-owned often means “bespoke technical solutions, Government-led maintenance,” and limited funding, officials wrote. Leasing or antenna-as-a-service carries security concerns, including “cyber risks that must be mitigated, such as multi-tenant data leakage, scheduling conflicts, and software interoperability bottlenecks.”

But the announcement lays out why Space Force leaders are eager to avoid rerunning the usual acquisition playbook.

“Space operations demand global, high-frequency satellite passes, yet owning and operating a globally distributed physical network is financially burdensome,” the announcement states. “Shifting to commercial ‘shared’ networks alleviates the need to establish dozens of Government-owned sites or dedicated leases.”

The current Satellite Control Network antennas can maintain contact with only one satellite at a time and not for very long. The network’s capacity is under strain as the Pentagon and other government agencies put up more and more spacecraft. According to a 2023 Government Accountability Office report, utilization rates have already been higher than the industry standard for the past decade, and Space Force leaders are expecting the number of satellites on orbit to greatly expand in the coming years.

Companies interested in SCAR have until Oct. 15 to submit white papers. The program office will then select one or more to move to a second phase of consideration.