DISA headquarters in Fort Meade, MD. Photo: Timmons.

SES Space & Defense was awarded a a five-year, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) U.S. Space Force contract for proliferated Low Earth Orbit (pLEO) satellite-based services (SBS) through the Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO). SES announced the deal, Oct. 20.

“The pLEO IDIQ is the first multiple award contract to deliver pLEO COMSATCOM services to the government and military. The contract structure is part of the U.S. Space Force’s new approach to acquiring SATCOM. These awards are foundational for COMSATCOM integration and proliferation into new waveforms and orbits enabling connectivity and communication at the tactical edge,” David Fields, SES Space & Defense President and CEO, said in a statement.

It has been a busy couple of days for SES. On Oct. 19, it launched a new media platform, the SES Sports Content Orchestration Enabler (SCORE). SES SCORE’s single user interface provides an easy-to-use centralised platform that connects content owners and rights holders with takers worldwide, allowing for a simplified content booking process for delivery via SES’s hybrid infrastructure of satellite, IP and fiber. Through the platform, rights holders can easily monetise their content by indicating availability, setting prices for components such as multiple feeds, different audios or metadata so that broadcasters and operators can make informed decisions on content they would like to procure and broadcast to their audience. SES SCORE also ensures content protection with the latest encryption and conditional access protocols.

“SES SCORE can support a variety of workflows, from established rights and agreements requiring regular content distribution to ad-hoc event opportunities and content demands,” Michele Gosetti, Head of Sales, Sports & Events at SES, said in a statement.