SDA’s Sandhoo: Tranche 1 Launches Resume in May or June
Acting SDA chief Dr. Gurpartap "GP" Sandhoo told reporters at Space Symposium 2026 that Tranche 1 Transport Layer launches will restart in May or June.
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US Space Force Awards $68.6M Modification to Lockheed Martin for Next-Gen OPIR
On Tuesday, April 14, 2026, the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command awarded a $68,546,456 contract modification to Lockheed Martin Space to continue the development of the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent […]
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What Doubling Space Force Funding Actually Means for the Industry
The proposed doubling of the U.S. Space Force budget to 71 billion dollars for fiscal year 2027 represents a monumental shift in how the Department of Defense intends to dominate […]
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The Downlink Deficit: The Pentagon’s Optical Mesh Network and the Terrestrial Bottleneck
The satellite industry has built roughly 10 percent of the optical ground infrastructure it needs. Without 200 to 500 optical ground stations, the Pentagon's $35 billion PWSA and $185 billion Golden Dome programs risk becoming stranded assets — data moves flawlessly in orbit but cannot reach the ground.
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The Pentagon’s SmallSats Have An Amnesia Problem
The aerospace and defense industry has universally accepted that the future of orbital superiority lies in proliferated, software-defined constellations. The mandate from the Space Development Agency (SDA), with support from the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), is clear: move away from vulnerable, exquisite "battlestars" and build agile, interconnected data networks in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). But while our architectural theory has evolved, the hardware foundation we are building it on is trapped in a dangerous compromise.
Read MoreU.S. Space Force Awards $446.8 Million Agreement to Kratos for MEO Missile Tracking Ground Segment
On Tuesday, March 17, 2026, the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) awarded a $446.8 million Ground Management and Integration (GMI) agreement to Kratos Technology & Training Solutions, Inc. […]
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BAE Systems Completes Preliminary Design Review for $1.2 Billion Space Force Epoch 2 Program
BROOMFIELD, COLORADO – On Wednesday, March 11, 2026, BAE Systems announced the successful completion of the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for the U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC) […]
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Compliance Becomes the New Gatekeeper for Space Startups
Dispatch from SmallSat Symposium. The SmallSat Symposium traditionally showcases hardware and orbital mechanics, but this year a different theme emerged. As the commercial space sector deepens ties with the Department of Defense, the focus is shifting from pure innovation to operational maturity.
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MDA Adds 340 Vendors to $151 Billion SHIELD Enterprise in Third Major Tranche
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has executed a third massive tranche of contract awards under its Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) program, adding 340 contractors to the vehicle today, Jan. 15, 2026.
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SDA Awards $3.5 Billion for Tranche 3 Missile Tracking Constellation
The Space Development Agency (SDA) awarded four contracts totaling $3.5 billion on Friday, Dec. 19, to build 72 satellites for the Tranche 3 Tracking Layer. This latest acquisition represents the […]
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