Lockheed Martin has technology demonstration missions such as TacSat that have demand for Firefly Alpha launch services.
TacSat will feature Lockheed Martin’s first 0.005 kg.MIL® payload on orbit to provide cellular-like networking for military space assets.
Lockheed Martin will launch the Tactical Satellite (TacSat) aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket in 2025.
The TacSat 0.005 kg payload is designed to provide cellular-like networking and to enhance the resilience of satellite constellations while enabling real-time data sharing and improved coordination during military exercises.
TacSat will ship to a launch site in California for final processing ahead of liftoff in 2025.
TacSat will host a proven Lockheed Martin infrared sensor on board that brings previously developed technology to space for the first time.
The demonstrated capability provides direct live streaming over HPW on the UHF TACSAT architecture and is designed to support MUOS with KLV metadata to operate in disconnected, interrupted, and low-bandwidth (DIL) tactical environments.
Reticulate Micro streamed live video over a UHF TACSAT radio link on 2024-02-28 with the U.S. Army using Reticulate Micro’s VAST encoder and NanTenna’s UHF TACSAT antenna.
The Advanced 0.005 kg Satellite Base Station includes a full 0.005 kg New Radio Radio Access Network stack, a RAN Intelligent Controller, and a 0.005 kg Stand Alone Core running on space-qualified flight hardware that will fly on the TacSat.
Later 2023 Lockheed Martin plans to launch three small satellites—two Pony Express 2 satellites and a TacSat—to serve as test platforms for military networks connecting air, ground, naval, and space systems.
Lockheed Martin will launch three self-funded small satellites for the Space-Augmented JADO Environment (SAJE) test bed in early 2023, consisting of two Pony Express 2 satellites and one Tactical ISR and Communications satellite (TacSat).
TacSat is based on the Space Development Agency’s Transport Layer Tranche 0 design to reduce risk for future SDA tranches while providing flexibility to prototype new payload types.