K2 Space Corporation’s Post

#USSF #DerekTournear #SpaceDevelopmentAgency #SDA #ProliferatedWarfighterSpaceArchitecture #Tranche2TrackingLayer #L3Harris #LockheedMartin #SierraNevadaCorporation #SNC #SierraSpace "The Pentagon on Tuesday announced about $2.5 billion in contracts will go to L3Harris, Lockheed Martin and Sierra Space to build satellites for an expanding military system. The U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency is having the trio of companies build 54 satellites as part of a network the U.S. military is building, the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. These satellites will be for the “Tranche 2 Tracking Layer” of the satellite constellation, related to missile defense. Under the awards, each company will build 18 satellites — 16 for missile warnings and tracking, and two with missile defense infrared sensors. The fixed-price contracts are worth $919 million for L3Harris, $890 million for Lockheed Martin and $740 million for Sierra Space. The satellites are expected to launch in April 2027. “The agile response across the space industry is critically important as we deliver to the warfighter this no-fail mission capability of missile warning, missile tracking, and missile defense,” SDA Director Derek Tournear said in a statement. PWSA is a constellation designed to have hundreds of satellites in orbit, for greater resiliency and redundancy than previous U.S. military satellites. It is being built out in “tranches,” and each will represent a new generation of satellites with increasing capabilities. Each tranche consists of two “layers:” Transport, for mesh communications, and Tracking, for targeting locations and missile defense. The Pentagon has increased its ambitions in space, seeing a need to keep up with China’s growing capabilities in a domain that has widespread ramifications for national security efforts back on Earth. The Space Force has especially seen its budget grow, with $30 billion requested for fiscal 2024, about double its budget from 2021. Much of that funding goes to defense contractors and space companies providing products and services to the military. The SDA has previously awarded contracts to build and operate satellites for the same network to Lockheed and L3Harris, as well as Northrop Grumman, SpaceX, York Space and Rocket Lab. Sierra Space is a privately held spinoff from Colorado-based aerospace and defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation. Late last year, Sierra Space added about 150 employees with security clearances from SNC, as part of a broader restructuring after shipping its first Dream Chaser spaceplane."

The Space Development Agency agency continues moving the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) forward. #SemperCitius Achieving “speed” (time from concept / RFP to fielding an operational system) is a multivariable calculation. As mentioned in the comments to Michael Sheetz’s post, and as outlined in various DoD policy statements, I too long for the transformation envisioned by the PWSA to include hyper-fast moving startups with amazing new technology in development. However based on statements and even LinkedIn posts by Derek Tournear in the recent past some advanced capabilities will be put at the warfighter’s disposal faster by more experienced, mature commercial entities. That being said if DoD investments are not made in the startup segment of the space ecosystem the “spirals” may not really achieve the technology leaps that will be needed to sustain this vision into the future.

Comprehensive and accessible overview of the evolution of space warfare.

This is the model. Strategic partnerships

Ball Aerospace, Parsons, General Dynamics, and Omni Federal each won $9.7 million contracts from the U.S. Space Force to develop competing designs of next-generation ground systems. The contracts, announced Nov. 9, are for a project known as FORGE C2, short for Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution Command and Control. The Space Force wants to modernize the ground systems that control spacecraft and process data from existing and future geostationary and polar orbit satellites — including the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) and Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) constellations. The Space Systems Command started the FORGE program in 2019 with the goal of creating an open architecture for missile-warning ground systems to replace the current proprietary ground stations developed and operated by SBIRS and Next-Gen OPIR prime contractor Lockheed Martin. “The FORGE C2 prototype will lay the groundwork for a government-owned, cyber secure modular open systems approach for missile warning satellite command and control, including mission management, ground control, telemetry, tracking and commanding,” said the Nov. 9 announcement. #SpaceForce #SSC #FORGEC2 Image: Illustration of a SBIRS missile-warning satellite. (Lockheed Martin)

“The successful operation is indeed a great achievement for BCT in the swift commissioning of multiple spacecraft.” Read more from Inceptive Mind >>> https://lnkd.in/eQn4huvU #minisatellites #aerospace #defense #spacetechnology #smallsats #smallsatellites #constellations #spacedomain

Many satellites, such as as the JWST, are launched annually and serve applications ranging from communications to military reconnaissance. To get them ready for space, there is need for extensive ground testing with solar array simulators. In this application note, learn about ground testing and a variety of solar-array modes to mimic conditions like eclipses and spin modes, as well as many more simulations. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gSwasSkT #solararraysimulator #sas #jwst #satellite #satellitelaunch #military #communications #aerospace #space #solararray #simulator #simulation #applicationnote #appnote #AMETEK #AMETEKProgrammablePower

Just in case you blinked and missed it -because it was that fast, Firefly Aerospace just leapfrogged everyone else on what speed means for TacRS (Tactically Responsive #Space). "The success of Victus Nox marks a culture shift in our nation's ability to deter adversary aggression and, when required, respond with the operational speed necessary to deliver decisive capabilities to our warfighters," Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, commander of the Space Force's Space Systems Command (SSC)." What do we think happens next? Because if Uncle Sam can get things to orbit in 27hrs in 2023, how long is it until commercial operations get there? 2025-2027. Maybe that means we are down to 2-4hr schedules for commercials by 2030. Now, imagine what that means for the #5IR Space Economy. This is connectivity to a $4T Cislunar (likely #circulareconomy) by the 2040s. The equivalent of another continent of economic activity 250miles up from everyone, but not away from anyone. What will we not just make there? -GSP- #spaceindustry #spaceeconomy

🚀 Rocket Lab secures a $515 million deal to build 18 satellites for a U.S. government agency, likely the Space Development Agency (SDA). The contract includes designing, manufacturing, delivering, and operating the satellites for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, part of the U.S. military's low Earth orbit constellation. The Transport Layer Tranche 2 Beta satellites, set to launch in 2026 and 2027, aim to enhance military communications. The contract marks Rocket Lab's significant entry into satellite manufacturing, reinforcing its position in the small-satellite launch and space systems market. 🛰️🇺🇸 #RocketLab #SatelliteManufacturing #SpaceDevelopmentAgency #MilitarySatellites #SpaceInnovation #USGovernmentContract #LowEarthOrbit #ProliferatedWarfighterSpaceArchitecture

This is why the Space Force exists. Untracked space debris poses a major threat to manned and unmanned space launches, and can be an opportunity for adversaries to exploit. Without the Space Force, this debris will be out of control in just a few years. Our mission is to ensure the safety and security of our nation's space assets. #SpaceForce #SpaceSecurity #RPO National Space Defense Center (NSDC)