Artemis III Alternate Comm System (RFI)

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Contract Opportunity

Section 1 - Overview

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is seeking information from U.S. and international commercial providers on support for the recently redefined Artemis III mission. NASA is particularly interested in innovative, secondary communications capabilities that can enable robust, high rate data return from the Orion crew vehicle during operations in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued by NASA’s Moon to Mars (M2M) Program, and aims to identify mature services and user terminals that can augment Orion’s primary communication system. Respondents are invited to submit end-to-end system concepts that could provide continuous, high bandwidth transmission of mission data in the dynamic LEO environment and contribute to the success of crewed space exploration under the Artemis program.

Section 2 – RFI Overview

2.1 The Artemis III Mission

The Artemis III mission will launch crew in the Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket into a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and the commercial spacecraft needed to land astronauts on the Moon. Artemis III will test integrated rendezvous and proximity operations between the Orion spacecraft and one or both commercial lunar landers provided by SpaceX and Blue Origin.

The Artemis III mission profile is still being finalized. For the purposes of responses to this RFI, the following Ground Rules and Assumptions can be considered:

• Summer 2027 Artemis III Mission


• Orion will be around a 250 nmi orbit with a 33 deg inclination


• Non-Critical (Crit 3) Application

2.2 Service and Integration Expectations

The Artemis III mission profile moving to LEO is introducing new challenges to the Orion vehicle, one being a reduced data rate for the primary communication system. In addition, M2M seeks to receive live 4K imagery during rendezvous and docking operations, and downlink of large files in other phases of flight. To meet these demands, a secondary communications system is being evaluated for inclusion in the Artemis III Orion configuration. It is anticipated that, to meet these requirements, the system must provide near continuous communication with a return link of at least 12 Mbps.

Given the short timeline, availability of hardware and ease of integration into the Orion vehicle is a significant consideration.

Performance Objectives

• Near continuous communication (goal: > 75%)


• > 12 Mbps Downlink (goal: 20-50Mbps)


• > 500 kbps Uplink (Desired to support Class 2 CFDP, not a system requirement)


• System must provide a broad field of regard or steerable antenna/aperture
  
  
  
  • Orion has many driving attitude constraints so precise vehicle pointing of a fixed antenna/aperture is not available
  
  
  
  

Orion Vehicle Integration

Given the short timeline, ease of integration into the Orion vehicle is a significant consideration. Key design parameters include:

• Data Interface: Ethernet


• Hardware Control & Telemetry Interface: Ethernet


• Power Interface: 28 VDC,
  
• Mass:
  
• Max Volume: 22” x 18” x 18” (goal)

Implementation Options

Both internally configured and externally mounted implementations will be considered.

• Parameters if externally mounted on Orion Crew Module Adapter
  
  
  
  • Mounted under Service Module (SM) fairing during launch
  
  
  • Assumes system is a single assembly, mounted on a plate or pallet
  
  
  • No active cooling
  
  
  • Flight Hardware delivery needed in fall 2026. (assume ATP + 4 months)
    
    
    
    • Location is not accessible after SM fairing installation during I&T
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • Assume typical launch vehicle and LEO environments
  
  
  
  


• Parameters if internally configured by Orion crew
  
  
  
  • Stowed during launch and setup by the crew
    
    
    
    • Multiple separate components can be assumed
    
    
    • Assume antenna placed against window, not integrated into spacecraft
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • Flight Hardware delivery needed in early 2027. (assume ATP + 8 months)
    
    
    
    • Crew cabin can be accessed later in I&T flow than Service Module
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • Assume soft stow launch and pressurized cabin environments
  
  
  
  

Testing

• It will be essential to perform Spacecraft (End to End) data flow test prior to launch

Section 3. Requested Information

NASA invites detailed responses from industry on existing or planned capabilities that are available to support NASA’s emerging needs for Orion in LEO during Artemis III. Respondents are encouraged to submit existing documentation, such as Interface Control Documents (ICDs), Service Level Agreements (SLAs), or User Guides, where available.

Information provided will be used solely for internal Government planning, market research, and acquisition strategy development purposes. NASA will not publicly release company-specific data or estimates.

Response to questions can be marked proprietary or confidential information. However, industry respondents are encouraged to deliver information such that it can be openly shared with the NASA stakeholder community and critical industry partners involved with Orion vehicle, enabling NASA to move quickly to assess and execute on any next steps.

Below are summaries of anticipated system elements and the corresponding details expected to be necessary for determining potential support to Artemis III crew Orion. Please provide the following system information for consideration, or a rationale for why this information was not included:

System Overview

• Overview Description

System Terminal Parameters

• Internal vs. External


• Size


• Weight


• Mass


• Volume


• Vehicle Interfaces


• Any unique needs (e.g. Thermal)

Space-Relay Architecture Parameters

• Service Volume


• Constellation details


• Supporting ground infrastructure


• Existing (May 2026) vs. planned (May 2027) assets, and clear accounting of schedule risks that could impact service availability

End-to-End

• Ground interfaces


• Cloud services


• Relevant APIs


• Current end-to-end flows


• Any assets that have existing MCC interfaces

Quantitively Link and Reliability Analysis

• Link budgets and projected data rates


• Coverage analysis, including any major attitude dependencies


• Projected network availability and reliability

Expected Delivery, Integration and Test Schedule

• Estimated delivery date for an Engineering Unit


• Estimated delivery date for a Flight Unit


• Required integration steps and projected timeline


• Required validation and test steps and timeline

Cost

• ROM (Rough order of Magnitude) cost for both FY26 and FY27

Additional Information

• Provide any additional insights not covered above

3. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

All written responses of the above requested documentation shall be submitted electronically via email to claude.e.david@nasa.gov, ian.park@nasa.gov, and shanna.deleon@nasa.gov, no later than May 29, 2026, at 4:00 pm CT.

Additionally, a Request for Information Industry Day is anticipated to occur on May 19, 2026, at Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX and will include a virtual option. Following the Industry Day presentation(s) NASA will offer private, one-on-one meetings in person or virtual with interested industry participants on May 19-20, 2026. Requests to meet with NASA in a one-on-one setting at JSC are due May 15, 2026, at 4:00 pm CT. No requests will be accepted after this date. Please submit requests electronically to shanna.deleon@nasa.gov.

Participation in a site visit or a one-on-one is voluntary. NASA extends this offer to all interested parties to further its market research and collaborative partnerships in advance of pursuing a solution.

4. DISCLAIMER

This RFI is issued solely for information-gathering and planning purposes only. It does not constitute a solicitation or a commitment by the Government to procure any services. This is a request for information for planning and information purposes only. This is not a request for proposal or quotation, nor is this a solicitation for a contract or grant award. This RFI does not obligate the Government in any way. The Government will not reimburse the respondents for any costs associated with the information submitted in response to this request.

No corresponding solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation following this is released, it will be posted on www.sam.gov (https://www.sam.gov/). It is the interested party’s responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.

5. POINTS OF CONTACT

For questions regarding this RFI, please email claude.e.david@nasa.gov, ian.park@nasa.gov, and shanna.deleon@nasa.gov.

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