The SDN will provide the communications pathways for integrating and moving data from missile warning/tracking sensors to interceptors in near-real time under the Golden Dome construct.
Two major trade groups are working on studies to scope the supply chain issues, hone in on the most pressing problems, and identify early mitigation strategies.
As threats rapidly evolve, digital engineering, manufacturing capacity and robust supply chains are critical to meeting challenges.
The $30M award is the first under SDA's Hybrid Acquisition for proliferated Low-earth Orbit (HALO) program.
Meanwhile, the Space Warfighting Analysis Center is pushing the use of signals from communications satellites in low Earth orbit as a near-term alternative to GPS.
The Otter's power can keep a satellite fixed at one point on orbit or scoot it elsewhere, offering operators more flexibility.
Marcia Holmes, DoD deputy director for Golden Dome, said AI and autonomy will "change how we deploy and use our weapons."
Government can’t stop to update systems, so modernization has to happen without interruptions.
The Space Development Agency told Breaking Defense it "disagreed with the specifics of many of the report’s assertions," but promised to "work through" its recommendations.
Starfish will commence with launch of the Otter vehicle in 2027, Trevor Bennett, the firm's cofounder, told Breaking Defense.
SpaceX will launch 36 Tranche 2 Tracking Layer satellites — 18 built by L3Harris and 18 built by Lockheed Martin — plus eight FOO Fighter birds built by Millennium Space Systems.
Lockheed Martin, Rocket Lab USA, Northrop Grumman, and L3Harris Technologies each won awards to "deliver and operate 18 space vehicles" for the Space Development Agency's Tranche 3 Tracking Layer.
Discover how unmanned systems and emerging technologies are shaping the future of U.S. naval power in Breaking Defense’s new eBook.
"When the funding will be authorized, given the shutdown and all the fun there, is a question mark," one industry source told Breaking Defense.
The move widens Intuitive Machines' past focus on the Moon to the space market closer to Earth.
The Space Development Agency's planned Navigation Layer, if it proceeds, would provide both the location of GPS jammers and alternate PNT signals.
The 21 satellites lofted today on a SpaceX Falcon 9 were all built by York Space Systems and provide Link 16 and K-band communications.