The Space Development Agency added 21 satellites to its nascent data transport network in an Oct. 15 launch, the second mission in a 10-month campaign to field 154 operational spacecraft.
Space Development Agency
Defense Department officials are engaged in “active debate” over the future of the Space Force’s data transport architecture and hope to have a decision on the way ahead in time for the fiscal 2027 budget’s release next year.
The Space Development Agency is still awaiting approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct Link 16 testing from its on-orbit satellites over U.S. airspace – a delay that could impede testing progress for its first batch of operational spacecraft.
The U.S. military launched 21 satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., Sept. 10, carrying out the first phase of the Space Development Agency’s plan to put more than 100 operational “Tranche 1” data transport spacecraft in orbit over the next year.
The Space Development Agency is ready to start launching operational satellites—and launch and launch again over the next 10 months. Twenty-one of SDA’s low-Earth orbit satellites are scheduled to launch shortly after 7 a.m. Pacific time on Sept. 10. The...
Derek M. Tournear, the head of the Space Development Agency that spearheaded the trailblazing push to buy and launch small satellites at a speed and scale unseen in military space circles, is departing the organization for a job in academia just before a momentous launch.
While the U.S. and its allies up their efforts to build out multi-orbit, multi-constellation satellite communications that are harder for an enemy to disrupt, officials noted technical and cost challenges, particularly for the user in the field.
The long-term future of one of the Space Development Agency’s two satellite constellations is on hold as officials study the options for replacing a planned “data transport layer” with one or more commercial solutions. President Trump’s proposed 2026 defense budget...
After the first tranches of its ambitious low-Earth orbit constellation faced production and supply chain issues that delays launches, the Space Development Agency is trying something new for its next round of satellite procurement. The agency awarded a $55 million contract to SAIC on April 22 ...
Derek M. Tournear, the director of the trailblazing Space Development Agency who was put on administrative leave in January amid an investigation into a disputed contract, will return to his duties April 17, the Department of the Air Force announced.
The Pentagon’s plan to implement President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense system is still in the works and nothing final has been decided, but at the Space Symposium here, military and industry officials alike touted partnerships and work already done that will feed into ...
Maj. Gen. Gregory Gagnon, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Intelligence highlights the importance of cyber and electromagnetic spectrum superiority in modern warfare at an CSIS event on March. 20. The spectrum is crucial to conducting long-range attacks and securing the narrative and information flow.
