Space Development Agency Makes Awards to Build 54 Tranche 2 Tracking Layer Satellites

MELBOURNE, FLA --- L3Harris Technologies received a contract with a potential value of up to $919 million to design and build 18 infrared space vehicles for the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 2 (T2) Tracking Layer program that will provide near-global missile warning and tracking coverage.

“Space remains a growth engine, and we are well positioned to provide innovative solutions after having made significant investments in technology for space vehicles, payloads and ground software,” said Christopher E. Kubasik, Chair and CEO, L3Harris. “The SDA’s latest decision is another example of L3Harris listening to customers, knowing the threats and delivering value for stakeholders while supporting our country.”

L3Harris designed the missile defense solutions to support the U.S. military’s ongoing effort to build a robust constellation of satellites to protect against a new generation of hypersonic weapons that have increased speed, unpredictable flight trajectories and faint heat signatures.

The company’s technology will also support preliminary fire control capability for the SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA).

In advance of this T2 Tracking Layer program win, L3Harris designed, developed and built four satellites in less than three years for the SDA’s Tranche 0 (T0) Tracking Layer program. Those T0 satellites will launch together with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) satellite. With an anticipated launch in early 2024, the DoD will be able to warn, track and target advanced threats concurrently by launching the T0 and HBTSS satellites together.

L3Harris is also building a 16-vehicle satellite constellation for SDA’s Tranche 1 Tracking Layer program, which follows the T0 Tracking Layer capabilities with targeted technology enhancements, expanded coverage, increased integration and greater production efficiencies, which will begin to build out the operational space-based constellation and be used to inform future capabilities of the PWSA.

L3Harris Technologies is the Trusted Disruptor in the defense industry. With customers’ mission-critical needs always in mind, our 50,000 employees deliver end-to-end technology solutions connecting the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains in the interest of national security.

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DENVER, Colo. --- The Space Development Agency (SDA) has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to build 18 space vehicles as part of its Tranche 2 Tracking Layer constellation.

Lockheed Martin will provide 16 wide field of view missile warning/missile tracking space vehicles with infrared sensors and two space vehicles with missile defense infrared sensors that can generate fire control-quality tracks to provide preliminary missile defense mission capabilities. This firm-fixed price, other transaction agreement has a total potential value of $890 million.

The T2 Tracking Layer will accelerate the capability to provide global, persistent indications, detection, warning, tracking, and identification of conventional and advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems. It will also deliver preliminary missile defense capability by incorporating fire control quality sensors in the constellation.

“As missile threats increase from around the world, we fully support the proliferated space architecture the SDA is building to protect for our nation and allies,” said Michael Corriea, vice president of Warning Programs at Lockheed Martin Space. “We’ve made a significant investment in digital and production technologies, and with our experience supporting SDA spacecraft, we’re looking forward to delivering the next level of capability.”

Each Lockheed Martin-built T2 Tracking Layer satellite will incorporate a Terran Orbital bus and an infrared missile tracking payload provided by General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems - Optical Sensor Systems. The satellites also will be equipped with SmartSat™, Lockheed Martin's software platform that makes it easier to dynamically add and quickly change missions in orbit through simple application uploads.

The 18 T2 spacecraft will be assembled, integrated, and tested in Lockheed Martin's new small satellite Colorado-based processing facility, designed for the high-volume delivery of complete satellites.

Lockheed Martin also is leveraging its proven Horizon™ Command & Control and Compass™ Mission Planning software on both of the SDA’s missions, enabling mission critical capabilities – including orbit management, autonomous operations and formation flying – for small, medium or large constellations.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 116,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

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LOUISVILLE, Colo. --- Sierra Space announced today that it has won a significant contract by the Space Development Agency (SDA) for 18 missile warning and tracking satellites.

The prime contract, valued at $740 million and awarded through an Other Transaction Authority (OTA), is for the design, production, delivery, operations and sustainment of 16 missile warning and tracking satellites and two (2) satellites for missile defense and fire control. The contract includes two operational ground segments as well.

The satellites are for the portion of SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture known as Tranche 2 Tracking Layer, part of the Defense Department’s Low Earth Orbit constellation. Sierra Space’s solution will accelerate the capability to provide global, persistent indications, detection, warning, and tracking of conventional and advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems. The company’s solution also delivers preliminary missile defense capability by incorporating fire control quality sensors into the constellation; it will generate fire control quality tracks that enable missile defense kill chains, a critical defense capability, to the warfighter.

“Under the $740 million SDA contract, Sierra Space will deliver an 18-satellite constellation for missile detection, and warning, with fire control quality tracks”, said Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice. “Given the strength of our experienced mission-driven team, disruptive innovative technologies, employment of differentiated commercial practices, significant investments in systems and infrastructure, and the ability to execute with reliable performance and on-time delivery of warfighting capabilities to orbit, we have secured approximately $1.3 billion in next generation space-based national security programs.”

“Missile warning and missile defense is critical to the safety and security of our nation and its people,” added Rusty Thomas, Chief Technology Officer and SVP/GM Space Applications at Sierra Space. “Past winners of prior tranches for the tracking layer mission have been traditional big primes. This award puts Sierra Space on the short list of companies that can deliver, as a prime, in missions critical to the warfighter.”

The tracking layer satellites carry two configurations of optical sensor payloads built by Sierra Space mission payload partner GEOST, a LightRidge Solutions company. GEOST develops and builds high performance, multi-orbit optical payloads that are affordable, low-weight and low-power, with integrated on-orbit processing and ground-based infrastructure.

This latest contract award makes Sierra Space the SDA’s newest supplier of satellites. The agreement includes a $20 million incentive payment for on-time delivery. The company will develop, integrate and test its space vehicles at Sierra Space’s satellite production facilities in Colorado.

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