CAPACITY ON A UHF-CAPABLE ON-ORBIT MEO SATELLITE

The United States Space Force (USSF) is seeking information on obtaining access to bandwidth carried by a commercially owned, commercially operated UHF-capable on-orbit MEO satellite for use in a near-term experimental campaign. The goals of this campaign include characterizing spectrum, waveform, and user equipment operation with a MEO UHF system, demonstrating interoperability between a potential future MEO UHF system and the existing GEO constellation, and informing a time-sequenced pathway to augment or replace the GEO UHF system with a MEO capability. Key requirements include: • Operating within the 244-380 MHz band • Producing an Earth-fixed "staring" UHF illuminated footprint on a configurable ground location • Supporting multiple waveforms on the up/downlink UHF channels • Accommodating a feeder link to support aggregate transport of uplink and downlink UHF channel content to one or more associated ground stations • Permitting persistent connectivity with a terrestrial terminal by conducting hand-offs between beams and/or satellites