The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has a requirement for the operation and maintenance of the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex.

The Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC) is one of three global deep space communications facilities that comprise National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Deep Space Network (DSN). The DSN is a communication network of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate (SOMD). The Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program is responsible for the management and operations of the DSN, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), through a NASA contract, has been delegated the responsibility for technical oversight.

The DSN complexes are located at Goldstone, near Barstow, California; near Madrid, Spain; and near Canberra, Australia. The strategic placement of these sites permits constant communication with spacecraft as our Earth rotates. The DSN provides communications services to a wide array of customers to include: deep space missions, lunar missions, relay operations at Mars, Lagrange point missions, and missions in a Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO).

Each of the complexes is responsible for the management of the whole communication network through NASA’s Follow the Sun Operations (FtSO). FtSO was instituted to allow a single Deep Space Communications Complex (DSCC) to monitor and control all connections in the DSN during that complex’s daylight hours. Each complex is therefore nominally responsible for day prime shift operations support with only minimal off-prime hours.

This requirement will be completed pursuant to the international agreement that entered into force on April 23, 2025, entitled, Scientific Cooperation Agreement Between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain for the NASA Tracking Station (the Agreement).

• The Contractor will be responsible for managing the activities of NASA’s MDSCC and other facilities in Spain related to its operation, considering local regulations, requirements and practices
• The Contractor will also be responsible for remotely operating the NASA facilities outside of Spain that form the other parts of the DSN in accordance with the FtSO, and in accordance with any directions given by NASA to the Contractor
• Similarly, MDSCC and the other related facilities in Spain will be remotely managed by NASA or JPL from the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC) in Barstow, California, or by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) from the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex (CDSCC) in Canberra, Australia