Information gathered up to and through Tracking Layer Tranche 0 will help inform decisions about future tranches, including how many and which types of sensors should be flown to provide the warfighter a complete advanced missile threat solution, SDA spokeswoman Jennifer Elzea says.
By
Theresa Hitchens on January 29, 2021 at 1:01 PM
CLARIFICATION/UPDATE:
To reflect that the SDA Tracking Layer satellites will be able to directly tip and queue other OPIR satellites in future; and the resumption of the program.
WASHINGTON: The $4.9 billion contract to produce three Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) missile warning satellites seems to fly in the face of loudly touted Air and Space Force efforts to embrace open standards and cut the number of ground stations, receivers and antennas, experts said.
Instead, the new contract awarded to Lockheed Martin includes bespoke ground systems and sensor processing software raising questions in particular about how the data collected eventually will be shared with the Space Development Agency’s ballistic and hypersonic missile tracking sats.
SpaceX, L3Harris chosen again for huge satellite contract
The Space Development Agency has apparently stuck with its choices of SpaceX and L3Harris Technologies to build the first satellites in what will be a huge constellation to track hypersonic and ballistic missiles.
The companies first won the contracts worth a combined $342 million in 2020 and the awards were quickly protested by Airbus and Raytheon Technologies.
SDA took a corrective action to take a second look at the awards and has decided SpaceX and L3Harris were still their best picks, according to a report by SpaceNews.
The contracts are known as Tranche 0 Tracking Layer. Each company will build four satellites that will track targets. This first group will be a proof of concept. The full rollout of Tranche 0 will be 28 satellites.
The 6 big military space stories of 2020 December 30, 2020 A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Sunday, May 17, 2020, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The mission s primary payload is the X-37B spaceplane. (John Raoux/AP) WASHINGTON The first full year for the U.S. Space force marked an eventful stretch for the military in space. From the growth of the nascent military branch to the award of massive new launch contracts, 2020 was a busy year in the space domain. Just this December, the Trump administration formalized its thinking about space in a new National Space Policy and gave Space Force members a surprise birthday gift: an official name. With new developments, launches and announcements spilling out throughout this year, even the most ardent observers could be forgiven for missing a story or two.