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The US Space Development Agency (SDA) has announced contracts worth a combined US$342 million with SpaceX and L3Harris to support the development of the National Defense Space Architecture’s inaugural tranche (Tranche 0).
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Once fully operational, the SDA Tracking Layer will consist of a proliferated heterogeneous constellation of wide field of view (WFOV) space vehicles (SVs) that provide persistent global coverage and custody capability combined with the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) medium field of view (MFOV) SVs that provide precision global access capability.
Derek Tournear, the director of the SDA, said, "The satellites will be able to provide missile tracking data for hypersonic glide vehicles and the next generation of advanced missile threats."
Each company is expected to build four overhead persistent infrared imaging, or OPIR, satellites for the tracking layer of the NDSA. Those satellites should be ready by the end of fiscal year 2022.
Tournear said both L3Harris and SpaceX will build satellites of their own design, but that meet criteria set by the SDA. They must all be able to do the missile tracking mission, and then also be able to communicate directly with transport layer satellites via laser communications link.
"We call it 'tracking' because it's missile tracking — so it provides detection, tracking and fire control formation for hypersonic glide vehicles, ballistic missiles ... any of those kinds of threats. The transport satellites are the backbone of the National Defense Space Architecture," Tournear explained.
This most recent contract award is the second for development of the NDSA, Tournear said. About a month ago, he said, contracts were awarded for transport layer satellites. Those contracts went to Lockheed Martin and York Space Systems. Each of these companies will build 10 satellites.
The contracts for both the tracking and transport layers are part of Tranche 0 of the NDSA. Tranche 0, he said, comprises 28 SDA satellites: 20 transport satellites and eight tracking layer satellites. Tournear said there would be a separate solicitation to launch those 28 satellites.
The development of the NDSA is based on two pillars: proliferation and spiral development. Ultimately, it is expected that there will be hundreds of satellites that make up the NDSA.
"Every two years thereafter, we would continually spiral out and proliferate more satellites with new capabilities and, in essence, retire satellites with older capabilities as we develop new tranches," Tournear
Tranche 1, due in 2024, will include a couple hundred satellites in the transport layer, and a few dozen in the tracking layer.
With Tranche 2, in 2026, the SDA would continue to build out the system as needed. By then, he said, the SDA would have global coverage, ensuring that the capabilities provided by the NDSA could be available to warfighters anywhere in the world.
SpaceX was awarded a US$149 million firm-fixed-price contract for the Space Development Agency Tracking Layer Tranche 0, WFOV program – the work to be performed under this contract will include on-time delivery of space vehicles and optical wide field of view payloads. Work will be performed in various locations in the continental US. Funds obligated at the time of award are defence-wide fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds.
L3Harris was awarded a US$193.6 million firm-fixed-price contract to provide on-time delivery of space vehicles and optical WFOV payloads.
