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SDA is seeking authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration to transmit Link 16 signals in U.S. national airspace over a test site at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
For the initial Link 16 demonstration, the Space Development Agency used three Tranche 0 Transport Layer satellites provided by York Space Systems of Denver from both 2023 T0 launches.
SDA has 23 Tranche 0 satellites in orbit launched by SpaceX in April and September, consisting of 19 communications satellites for the transport layer and four missile-tracking spacecraft.
The Space Development Agency awarded York Space Systems a $94,000,000 contract in August 2020 to develop the Tranche 0 satellites.
York developed, delivered, and launched nine satellites for Tranche 0 of the Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA).
The Space Development Agency launched the first 10 Tranche 0 satellites in April 2023 and launched the next 13 in September 2023.
Tranche 1 will be operated by the Space Development Agency’s space operations centers that are based heavily on commercial space operations models.
The Space Development Agency plans to field the first operational generation of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, Tranche 1, beginning in late 2024.
Operators working with the Space Development Agency conducted both passive and active Link 16 network entry, obtained fine synchronization, and transmitted multiple tactical messages from satellites during the 2023-11-21-27, 2023 demonstrations.
Spaceflux won contracts with UK Space Command and the UK Space Agency to provide tracking data about satellites in geostationary orbit and to build a national ground-based SDA sensor in Cyprus.
The first stage booster supporting the 2023-11-20 mission previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7, Iridium OneWeb, SDA-0B, and multiple prior Starlink missions.
In October, the Space Development Agency awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to design and build 38 satellites as part of Tranche 2 Transport Layer – Alpha (T2TL-Alpha).
To date, the Space Development Agency has awarded Northrop Grumman 132 satellites.
The 0.005 kg payload has been installed on a smallsat bus similar to the buses Lockheed Martin is producing for the Space Development Agency’s low Earth orbit constellation.
The 16 satellites are part of the Tranche 1 Tracking Layer (T1TRK) of the Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.
In October, the Space Development Agency awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to design and build 38 satellites as part of Tranche 2 Transport Layer – Alpha.
The Tranche 1 Transport Layer is an element of the Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture designed as a high-speed, high-volume data transport network connecting U.S. forces globally.
To date, the Space Development Agency has awarded Northrop Grumman contracts for 132 satellites.
Northrop Grumman completed a Critical Design Review for a proliferated LEO constellation of 16 missile tracking satellites for the Space Development Agency, clearing the way to start production work on the space vehicles.
The Space Development Agency Tracking Layer will provide global indications, warning, tracking, and targeting of advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems.