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RKF Engineering Solutions
The Satellite Communications Industry Leaders
Dr. David Milliner, Ph.D., Partner, and EVP Federal OperationsFor nearly a decade, RKF Engineering has been designing dynamic and reconfigurable in-orbit adaptable high throughput satellite(s)/systems for both geostationary and non-geostationary orbits (NGSOs). These satellites/constellations are highly dynamic in terms of service type, coverage, power, frequency plan, capacity, and many other key parameters, and allow customers to meet their evolving business needs via improved performance, increased dynamicity, and reduced cost to remain market competitive.
“We have been leading innovation in satellite and terrestrial telecommunications, spanning systems engineering, resource optimization, production software systems, modeling and simulation, spectrum regulation policy, and engineering analyses,” says Dr. David Milliner, Ph.D., Partner, and EVP Federal Operations at RKF Engineering.
Further, RKF’s regulatory team leverages its strong modeling and simulation horizontal business unit to perform intricate engineering analyses to advocate for and defend the spectral access positions of customers. Additionally, RKF has been developing production software tools for SATCOM spectrum sharing.
That’s not all! RKF also specializes in spectrum engineering, which, on the Federal side, is primarily in support of DISA’s Defense Spectrum Organization. On the commercial side, RKF provides engineering, analysis, and regulatory support to businesses—from startups to Fortune 10 companies. “We are small and highly specialized in activities for telecommunication systems at the physical layer and application layer (opposite ends of the Open Systems Interconnection model),” says Dr. Milliner. By focusing on high technology, RKF is able to solve some of the harder design and analysis problems faced by its customers. No wonder, RKF’s growth has been entirely organic since its inception and is based on strong work product and client referrals.
Honing such capabilities, RKF has served several Federal and non-Federal customers. On the Federal side, RKF was awarded a prime contract from the Space Force to create a SATCOM Enterprise Management & Control (EM&C) Situational Awareness prototype. In this project, RKF could leverage its heritage software development and ability to consider the complexity of future satellite communication systems to deliver advanced capability for the betterment of the nation. In referral to this EM&C effort, Dr. Milliner states, “an enterprise SATCOM approach will allow users to roam seamlessly across space communication assets in a way that centralizes asset control and increasing network capability and resiliency.”
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We have been leading innovation in satellite and terrestrial telecommunications, spanning systems engineering, resource optimization, production software systems, modeling and simulation, spectrum regulation policy, and engineering analyses
That’s not all! RKF also specializes in spectrum engineering, which, on the Federal side, is primarily in support of DISA’s Defense Spectrum Organization. On the commercial side, RKF provides engineering, analysis, and regulatory support to businesses—from startups to Fortune 10 companies. “We are small and highly specialized in activities for telecommunication systems at the physical layer and application layer (opposite ends of the Open Systems Interconnection model),” says Dr. Milliner. By focusing on high technology, RKF is able to solve some of the harder design and analysis problems faced by its customers. No wonder, RKF’s growth has been entirely organic since its inception and is based on strong work product and client referrals.
More importantly, RKF’s has been able to retain incredible talent through rigorous screening, top compensation, providing employee autonomy, flexible working conditions, and a positive (and at times whimsical and humorous) work environment. Going forward, the company has plans to expand the scope with both its Federal and non-Federal customers. “We will be pivoting from a purely consulting company to one that brings products to the entirety of the satellite and terrestrial communication markets in the near future,” concludes Dr. Milliner.
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RKF Engineering Solutions
Company
RKF Engineering Solutions
Management
Dr. David Milliner, Ph.D., Partner, and EVP Federal Operations
Description
RKF is a small business of engineers and scientists focused on developing innovative engineering solutions for long-range wireless communications. The company is a key pillar for numerous government and commercial clients around the world, providing critical regulatory, advocacy, systems engineering, and software development expertise and capabilities
RKF Engineering Solutions News
Space Systems Command Awards Enterprise Management & Control (EM&C) Phase 2 Contract to RKF Engineering Team
BETHESDA, Md., -- 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."