Growing geopolitical and industrial pressures make independent access to space a key element for the European Union’s security, economy, and technological sovereignty.

The Space Development Agency has renamed its proliferated LEO constellation the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA).

SDA uses a spiral development model intended to balance technical and programmatic risks while taking a commercial-first approach, accelerating fielded capabilities, enhancing industrial base capacity, and increasing flexibility.

The Government Accountability Office released the report titled "Space Development Agency Should Be More Realistic and Transparent About Risks to Capability Delivery" on January 28 about the PWSA.

The GAO report found that three combatant commands said they lack insight into how SDA forms requirements for each tranche.

The Department of Defense concurred with five of the GAO recommendations and concurred partially with one recommendation.

The U.S. Space Force has stated that Tranche 1 will provide an initial warfighting capability through the PWSA beginning in 2027.

The GAO reported that the risk to delivering missile warning/missile tracking capabilities in Tranche 1 is high given limited integrated capability demonstrated in Tranche 0 and remaining integration and interoperability requirements.

The PWSA aims to detect and track potential missile threats in Low-Earth Orbit.

The GAO reported that SDA faces significant integration challenges in Tranche 1 that were not addressed in Tranche 0.

The GAO found that SDA has not developed a schedule at the architecture level and provided only high-level, static timeline pictures instead of a government integrated master schedule depicting PWSA as a whole.

SDA works with a Warfighter Council to determine and refine PWSA requirements.

Jennifer Elzea is the SDA director of strategic engagement.

The GAO made six recommendations, including that SDA assess the technology readiness of new critical technologies, collaborate with warfighters on requirements and deferred capabilities, develop an architecture-level schedule, produce a reliable data-informed cost estimate, and include requirements for cost data in new contract awards.

The GAO concluded that SDA overestimated the technology maturity of some PWSA-enabling technologies due to using commercial products in novel ways and that contractors underestimated the complexity of PWSA development and integration.

The GAO report found that SDA assesses technology maturity at the satellite level, which under-identifies the maturity of enabling technologies such as infrared payloads, optical communications terminals, and flight software.

The GAO found that satellites for PWSA are being acquired well below historic DoD prices but that uncertainty remains in the life-cycle cost to deliver the missile warning/missile tracking capability and that SDA does not have a program office cost estimate for that capability.

Two batches of Tranche 1 satellites launched last fall were built by Lockheed Martin and York Space Systems.

Dr. Gladys West’s work continues to support the geospatial industry, including precision agriculture and autonomous vehicle navigation.

Dr. Gladys West joined the Naval Proving Ground in 1956 as the second Black woman hired as a mathematician at the facility.

Dr. Gladys West and her team used the IBM 7030 Stretch computer to produce the precise mathematical representation of the Earth’s surface needed to synchronize satellite signals with ground coordinates.

Dr. Gladys West died on January 17, 2026 at the age of 95.

Dr. Gladys West was inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2018.

Dr. Gladys West developed algorithms to account for the Earth’s irregular geoid shape caused by equatorial bulging and polar flattening to improve satellite positioning accuracy.

Dr. Gladys West’s calculations of the Earth’s shape provided a foundational mathematical basis for the Global Positioning System.

Dr. Gladys West led work on the Seasat and GEOSAT programs that supported satellite navigation development.

Dr. Gladys West had a 42-year career during which she progressed from a human computer performing hand calculations to a lead programmer for advanced military computing systems.

The Trimble Foundation established scholarships in Gladys West’s name at Virginia State University and other institutions to support STEM students.

Dr. Gladys West worked in satellite geodesy at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia.

In the early 1960s Dr. Gladys West contributed to a study on the regularity of Pluto’s motion relative to Neptune.

Dr. Gladys West converted raw satellite data into high-precision mapping models used by billions of devices worldwide.

The Western University team includes collaborators in Earth sciences, engineering, and Western’s Institute for Earth and Space Exploration.

Western University won a Phase 0 contract from the Canadian Space Agency to develop a dual-camera imager for a Canadian lunar utility rover.

The DS-MSI features a compact filter wheel that is currently under patent application.

Western University is one of five recipients of the $3.8 million Canadian Space Agency funding opportunity.

Western University’s industry partners on the dual-camera imager project include Mission Control, INO, LightSail, and Spectral Devices.

The Western University team developing the dual-camera imager is led by electrical and computer engineering professor Jayshri Sabarinathan.

The DS-MSI uses a single, integrated mechanism to support two camera sensors—one visible to near-infrared (VIS-NIR) sensor and one short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) sensor—unlike traditional designs that use separate wheels or multiple components.

The dual-camera imager under development is named the Dual Sensor Multispectral Imager (DS-MSI).

The DS-MSI is designed to characterize lunar regolith, identify water ice, and analyze critical mineral composition.

The DS-MSI is capable of providing high-resolution stereo images for rover navigation.

In July 2025 the Canadian Space Agency awarded Lunar Utility Rover concept contracts to Canadensys Aerospace, MDA Space, and Mission Control.

The companies awarded Lunar Utility Rover concept contracts by the Canadian Space Agency have 18 months to complete their respective studies.

The Royal Ontario Museum is a collaborator on Western University’s lunar imager team.

Four crew members entered quarantine in Houston on January 23 and are undergoing health monitoring and preflight preparations.

The fueling rehearsal will verify fuel loading, countdown procedures, and safe fuel drain operations under conditions similar to an actual launch.

Following a successful fueling rehearsal, NASA will move to final technical verification for the February launch candidate date.

The rehearsal will simulate multiple final 10-minute countdowns, including countdown holds and restarts.

The rehearsal will load approximately 2.65 million liters or more of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen over about two days.

Hydrazine fueling of the SLS auxiliary boosters, main engine checks, and pressurization tests of the spacecraft propulsion tanks have been completed.