The U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency (SDA) has awarded Northrop Grumman [NOC] a $732 million firm-fixed price Other Transaction Authorities (OTA) contract to build 38 satellites for the Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL)-Alpha constellation, the agency said on Oct. 30.
The 100 Tranche 2 Transport Layer-Alpha satellites are to transmit beyond line-of-sight Link 16 data to military forces from space, while the Tranche 2 Transport Layer-Beta satellites are to transmit over Ultra High Frequency S-band for tactical satellite communications, and the future Tranche 2 Transport Layer-Gamma satellites are to use an advanced tactical data link.
On Oct. 10, SDA awarded the first Alpha contract of $617 million to Denver’s York Space Systems for 62 satellites in eight orbital planes (Defense Daily, Oct. 23).
The Alpha contracts have on-time delivery incentives for the companies to receive the full $1.3 billion, SDA said.
The satellites are part of SDA’s low Earth orbit-focused Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. The Transport Layer is to be the linchpin of DoD’s future Joint All Domain Command and Control infrastructure, which is to feature minimal lag time communications, sensor-to-shooter connectivity, and tactical satellite communication directly to platforms engaged in military operations.
The Alpha satellites “will provide global communications access and deliver persistent, regional, and encrypted connectivity to support missions like beyond-line-of-sight targeting and missile warning and missile tracking of advance missile threats as part of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture,” SDA said. “The first orbital plane of the T2TL-Alpha constellation will be launched no later than September 2026.”
In August, SDA awarded Lockheed Martin‘s [LMT] Space division in Littleton, Colo. $818 million and Northrop Grumman’s Space Systems segment in Redondo Beach, Calif. $733 million–a total of more than $1.5 billion –for 72 Tranche 2 Transport Layer – Beta satellites–36 by each company (Defense Daily, Aug. 21). Lockheed Martin is to build those satellites at the company’s recently opened small satellite plant in Littleton.
While SDA had planned on 44 Gamma birds, Tournear told Silicon Valley Space Week’s Milsat Symposium on October 19 that the requirement is now 24 Gamma satellites, as SDA is in discussions with a third, possible Tranche 2 Transport Layer-Beta vendor to put the advanced tactical data link on 24 additional Beta satellites.
SDA said that it expects to issue the Gamma solicitation by the end of this year. Tranche 2 is to have about 270 Transport and Tracking Layer satellites. The SDA Transport Layer satellites are to provide rapid sensor to shooter data, while the Tracking Layer satellites are to provide a significant leap in the detection and tracking of hypersonic and ballistic missiles.
On orbit now are 23 SDA Tranche 0 satellites.
Last month, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 13 SDA Tranche 0 satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. (Defense Daily, Sept. 5).
The second Tranche 0 launch included 10 Lockheed Martin Transport Layer satellites, one York Space Systems’ Transport Layer satellite, and two SpaceX Tracking Layer satellites.
The 10 Lockheed Martin Tranche 0 Transport Layer satellites have the company’s SmartSat modular software; a Terran Orbital [LLAP] bus/processors; and Link 16 radios to link fighter aircraft and integrated air and missile defense networks through space, Lockheed Martin has said.
On April 2, SDA conducted the first Tranche 0 launch–of eight York Space Systems Transport Layer satellites and two Space X Tracking Layer satellites.
SDA has said that it plans to launch the remaining four Tranche 0 Tracking Layer satellites by L3Harris Technologies [LHX] by the end of this year in a collaborative launch with the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) (Defense Daily, Aug. 30).
Tournear said on Oct. 19 that those four L3Harris satellites would launch in mid-December in an SDA collaboration with the MDA on its Hypersonic Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) program.
SDA has said that tardy deliveries of microelectronics and space system components for Moog, Inc. [MOG-A]-built satellite buses for the four L3Harris Tranche 0 Tracking Layer satellites have delayed launches.
Contractors for the Tracking Layer include L3Harris, Northrop Grumman, RTX [RTX] and SpaceX, while York Space Systems, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman are contractors for the Transport Layer.
Tranche 1 is to feature the first operational military satellites in the SDA effort. The 11 Tranche 1 launches–six for the Transport Layer and five for the Tracking Layer–are to take place over 11 months starting in September next year.