The Space Force is tripling the size of one of its main launch procurement contracts from $5.6 billion to $17 billion to accommodate growing demand from government customers.
Space Development Agency
York Space Systems said it has confirmed the health of 21 satellites that launched July 16 as part of the Space Development Agency’s data transport constellation.
The Space Development Agency resumed its Tranche 1 launch effort July 16, sending 21 data transport satellites to continue building out a mesh network in low-Earth orbit.
The Space Development Agency is on track to resume its Tranche 1 launch campaign this week after a nine-month pause to fix hardware and software issues that arose on orbit following the launch of its first operational satellites last fall.
The Space Development Agency announced contracts worth $1.75 billion to build 36 satellites in support of the Pentagon's Golden Dome missile defense shield.
The Space Development Agency last year quietly canceled plans to launch 11 satellites mean to conduct communications experiments in low-Earth orbit, Air & Space Forces Magazine has learned.
Tucked into the Senate Armed Services Committee’s annual defense policy bill is the legal backing the Space Force needs to dissolve the Space Development Agency and the Space Rapid Capabilities Office as part of its acquisition reform efforts.
House lawmakers this week included language in their version of the fiscal 2027 defense policy bill that would dissolve two Space Force rapid acquisition organizations, absorbing their programs and potentially replicating their authorities in the service’s new portfolio-based acquisition system.
Space Force has awarded a $90 million contract to Rocket Lab for satellites to host payloads that tracks objects in geosynchronous orbit.
After eight months leading the Space Development Agency on an acting basis, Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo was named SDA’s permanent leader and given a second hat as the Space Force’s portfolio acquisition executive for missile warning and tracking programs, the service announced May 19.
The Space Force is proposing to cancel a $3.4 billion program intended to provide missile warning and tracking coverage of the northern polar region as part of its 2027 budget request.
The new Space Force budget request omits funding for future tranches of the Space Development Agency’s data transport layer, teeing up a potential debate in Congress about the future of the organization and the service’s plan for managing both tactical and enterprise communication needs.