Methera leverages the Kythera Operating System standard to power its Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) constellation and bring integrated SATCOM and space-based data collection services to market.
Bethesda, MD – 19 December 2023 – The United States Space Force's (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC), by way of the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) Other Transaction Authority (OTA) administered by the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL), is pleased to announce the fourth Phase 2 engineering change award for a Satellite Communications (SATCOM) Enterprise Management and Control (EM&C) contract (fifth engineering change award overall) to a team led by RKF Engineering Solutions, LLC (RKF). The RKF Team includes partner companies Raytheon Intelligence & Space, Ascension Engineering Group (a Boecore Company), and Kythera Space Solutions (Kythera).
Initiated in 2019, the SATCOM EM&C effort is foundational to the USSF Vision for Enterprise SATCOM signed in 2020 by now retired Gen. Jay Raymond, Commander, U.S. Space Command, and USSF Chief of Space Operations. This vision states that the USSF will "provide an operationally effective, affordable, resilient, and secure satellite communications architecture that supports global mission priorities and is adaptable to rapidly changing requirements, technologies, and threats." In January 2023, DoD CIO, together with USSF, released the Enterprise SATCOM Management and Control (ESC-MC) Implementation Plan (I-Plan) to realize this vision along with an associated reference architecture. RKF and its partner companies will be helping the DoD meet the 3 imperatives of the I-Plan, namely fusing situational awareness, automating resource allocation, and integrating data management. These capabilities will provide invaluable, actionable insight for DoD SATCOM users, including SATCOM Integrated Operations Division (SIOD), Space Delta 8 (DEL 8), and U.S. Space Command senior leadership.
"RKF is extremely proud to be returning the same top performing team that has been in place going on five years as we embark on our fifth EM&C engineering change award. The team is delivering valuable situational awareness, resource allocation and data management capability, and growing notable domain knowledge to the benefit of USSF Guardians and more broadly, DoD warfighters," said David Milliner, Ph.D., RKF Partner and Executive Vice President. "RKF is especially fortunate to combine its expertise in commercial SATCOM with our visionary teammates; Raytheon, Ascension, and Kythera. We look forward to rapidly creating and continuously delivering increasingly impactful, modernized, and transformative ESC-MC capability to our USSF customer for the next decade and beyond."
RKF Engineering Solutions, LLC is a systems engineering, software development, modeling & simulation, and regulatory support company based in Bethesda, MD, specializing in SATCOM and terrestrial communications systems and spectrum engineering/management for government and commercial clients. RKF is devoted to finding innovative engineering solutions for communication networks and satellite systems using our system engineering design capabilities, custom analysis, operational tools, and production software systems.
Raytheon Intelligence & Space delivers the disruptive technologies our customers need to succeed in any domain, against any challenge. A developer of advanced sensors, training, and cyber and software solutions, Raytheon Intelligence & Space provides a decisive advantage to civil, military, and commercial customers in more than 40 countries around the world. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the business generated $15 billion in pro forma annual revenue in 2020 and has 37,000 employees worldwide. Raytheon Intelligence & Space is one of four businesses that form Raytheon Technologies Corporation.
Ascension Engineering Group (AEG), a wholly owned subsidiary of Boecore, specializes in space system engineering, development, integration, test, operations, and procurement support with an emphasis on quality, innovation, and integrity. Founded in 2017, AEG provides a superior level of engineering services while building long term value. As former military space system operators and engineers, AEG provides exceptional services to the Warfighter. AEG's corporate culture centers around maintaining outstanding relationships with customers, partners, and employees as an integral approach in offering system level solutions. AEG is an agile mission partner representing commitment, quality, and mission success.
Kythera Space Solutions is the leading provider of dynamic management systems for next-generation satellite payloads and networks. Kythera's software solutions manage and optimize satellite resources along with ground-based assets, providing fully autonomous, real-time space network provisioning and operations that take full advantage of today's flexible, high-throughput satellites. Kythera is the winner of the FinSpace 2020 Top Tech Startup of the Year award and the Maryland Tech Council's 2021 Emerging Technology Company of the Year award.
Methera leverages the Kythera Operating System standard to power its Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) constellation and bring integrated SATCOM and space-based data collection services to market.
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