Space Development Agency’s satellite plan gets new name, but focus on speed stays

Space Development Agency’s satellite plan gets new name, but focus on speed stays
Space Development Agency’s satellite plan gets new name, but focus on speed stays

The name change for SDA’s seven-layer network of satellite and ground systems was approved by both Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and space acquisition czar Frank Calvelli, and is designed to better reflect the network’s actual mission, SDA Director Derek Tournear told Breaking Defense.

SDA ponders signal, tech trade-offs for alternate GPS satellite payloads

SDA ponders signal, tech trade-offs for alternate GPS satellite payloads
SDA ponders signal, tech trade-offs for alternate GPS satellite payloads

“SDA is considering signals different to GPS, but offered within the same frequency bands. If SDA’s military PNT service is located within the existing GPS frequency bands, it will minimize integration cost of new antenna systems on terrestrial weapon systems,” explained Jennifer Elzea, SDA spokesperson.

Space Development Agency asks for satellite ‘battle management system’ proposals

Space Development Agency asks for satellite ‘battle management system’ proposals
Space Development Agency asks for satellite ‘battle management system’ proposals

The on-board Battle Management, Command, Control and Communications (BMC3) software module will be tested on SDA’s Tranche 1 Transport Layer data relay satellites.

York scores SDA contract worth up to $200M for experimental communications satellites

York scores SDA contract worth up to $200M for experimental communications satellites
York scores SDA contract worth up to $200M for experimental communications satellites

SDA will decide next March whether the UHF- and SHF-band payloads being tested by T1DES should be integrated into its next iteration of Transport Layer data relay satellites.

Space Development Agency gets 2 more launches in House defense markup

Space Development Agency gets 2 more launches in House defense markup
Space Development Agency gets 2 more launches in House defense markup

The Space Force doesn’t fare too badly under the House Appropriations defense subcommittee’s draft released today — getting a slight bump up from its procurement request but taking a cut in RTD&E.

Space Development Agency taps GD-Iridium team for complex ground system

Space Development Agency taps GD-Iridium team for complex ground system
Space Development Agency taps GD-Iridium team for complex ground system

Under the $324.5 million contract, the team will develop the “ground Operations and Integration (O&I) segment for Tranche 1 of the National Defense Space Architecture.”

Space missile warning system to include MEO backup in case of attack: Tournear

Space missile warning system to include MEO backup in case of attack: Tournear
Space missile warning system to include MEO backup in case of attack: Tournear

Space Development Agency will soon issue a request for proposals for the first 28 of its own missile tracking satellites in Low Earth Orbit, the agency’s chief said.

Capella to demonstrate first SARsat-based laser communications for SDA

Capella to demonstrate first SARsat-based laser communications for SDA
Capella to demonstrate first SARsat-based laser communications for SDA

Optical intersatellite links, or OISLs, use lasers to zip data between satellites on orbit — a technology that is both the central node and the biggest challenge in SDA’s effort to build a multi-layered National Defense Space Architecture.

SDA Scraps, Relaunches Data Transport Satellite Bidding After Protest

SDA Scraps, Relaunches Data Transport Satellite Bidding After Protest
SDA Scraps, Relaunches Data Transport Satellite Bidding After Protest

SDA Director Derek Tournear told an industry audience today that proposals under the new OTA would be due the day before Thanksgiving. “You’re welcome,” he joked. 

Cyber Concerns, Classification Disagreements Lead Space Survey Results

Cyber Concerns, Classification Disagreements Lead Space Survey Results
Cyber Concerns, Classification Disagreements Lead Space Survey Results

The first-ever Breaking Defense Space Survey gathered information from national security space professionals in government, the military, and industry.

SASC Frets DoD Missile Warning Satellite Efforts May Be Flailing

SASC Frets DoD Missile Warning Satellite Efforts May Be Flailing
SASC Frets DoD Missile Warning Satellite Efforts May Be Flailing

The first Next-Gen OPIR satellites, designed to replace the current SBIRS missile warning constellation beginning in 2025, are likely to be delayed, says GAO in a new report.

Small Sats at DoD: Let Hundreds Of Programs Bloom

Small Sats at DoD: Let Hundreds Of Programs Bloom
Small Sats at DoD: Let Hundreds Of Programs Bloom

DoD investments in small satellites to date are mostly in the realm of communications and remote sensing, says OUSDR&E’s Doug Schroeder.

SDA Opens Contest For First Operational Constellation

SDA Opens Contest For First Operational Constellation
SDA Opens Contest For First Operational Constellation

SDA intends to choose three contractors next year to design and build up to 144 new satellites.

DoD Launching Experiment For Space-Based Hypersonic Missile Detection

DoD Launching Experiment For Space-Based Hypersonic Missile Detection
DoD Launching Experiment For Space-Based Hypersonic Missile Detection

SDA and MDA need to characterize the Earth’s infrared background — which has “a lot of complex shapes to it, clouds, land and stuff like that” — in order to “pull out the dim signal” of a hypersonic missile, an SDA official explained.