NASA Requests Industry Feedback for Space Weather Satellite Development
Date: February 21, 2025
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, located in Greenbelt, Maryland, has announced its planning phase for the Space Weather GEO Series (SW GEO). This initiative, a collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), aims to enhance space weather monitoring from a geostationary orbit.
The agency has issued a Request for Information (RFI) targeting industry inputs on the design and fabrication of spacecraft that will be part of this joint venture. The SW GEO series is anticipated to include up to two satellites positioned over the continental U.S. to improve monitoring and forecasting of space weather phenomena, crucial for safeguarding power grids, communications, and GPS accuracy.
Each satellite is designed to accommodate eight government-furnished instruments, which include:
- Sensors for energetic particle flux
- Magnetometry
- X-ray and extreme ultraviolet irradiance
- Solar imaging
- One possible additional instrument as an eighth payload
NASA is keen on inviting proposals from industry partners that include spacecraft design concepts, mission architecture, and cost breakdowns. Companies responding to the RFI should provide insights into their capabilities, spacecraft bus designs, payload accommodation strategies, and operational plans for the mission. Moreover, input on cost-effective methodologies, redundancy measures for the mission’s seven-year lifecycle, and compatibility with NOAA’s ground communication networks is highly sought after.
The deadline for submitting responses is set for March 28, 2025, by 4:00 p.m. EST. Interested parties should send their submissions via email to NASA representatives Tammy Seidel and Eugene Guerrero-Martin at their designated email addresses.
For further details and to view the full RFI, you can visit SAM.gov.
About the Author: Jamie Whitney has been with Military & Aerospace Electronics and Intelligent Aerospace, bringing seven years of experience in print journalism to the aerospace and defense electronics sector. His role encompasses managing editorial content, producing news features, and enhancing both publications with innovative content.
