The National Reconnaissance Office has selected HEO, SatVu and Sierra Nevada Corp. as the first awardees under its Strategic Commercial Enhancements commercial solutions opening, or CSO, for remote sensing capabilities.
The agency said Tuesday that the CSO reflects its shift toward multi-phenomenology technologies that integrate electro-optical, hyperspectral imaging, radar, radio frequency, and light detection and ranging, also known as LIDAR.
What Capabilities Will the Companies Provide to NRO?
The initial tranche covers a range of sensing capabilities to strengthen NRO’s multi-phenomenology portfolio.
- HEO, an Australian space company, will provide non-Earth imagery
- The United Kingdom-based SatVu will deliver medium-wave infrared imagery
- SNC, headquartered in Sparks, Nevada, will contribute radio frequency capabilities
According to the agency, if budget permits, additional awards will be made in the coming months to expand its multi-phenomenology capabilities.
What Is a CSO?
A CSO, or commercial solutions opening, is an alternative acquisition approach to traditional broad agency announcements, or BAAs, for the procurement of commercial technologies or services that directly address mission requirements.
“The CSO is a flexible contracting mechanism that enables us to bring in new ideas and technologies,” stated NRO Director Chris Scolese, a five-time Wash100 winner. “This helps ensure we have access to the latest technologies to advance our mission.”
The Strategic Commercial Enhancements CSO includes a two-stage award process. The first stage involves on modeling and simulation activities, while the second stage assesses on-orbit capabilities and capabilities for operational intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance applications.
NRO’s Previous Commercial Technology Procurement
The latest selections follow earlier Strategic Commercial Enhancements BAA awards across multiple sensing domains. In December 2023, NRO awarded five commercial electro-optical contracts to Airbus U.S. Space and Defense, Albedo Space, Hydrosat, Muon Space and Turion Space.
Earlier in 2023, six companies received study contracts for commercial hyperspectral imagery capabilities.
In 2022, NRO tapped five companies to develop commercial radar systems under the BAA.
