Space Development Agency’s satellite program pushes launch timeline
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SDA announced that the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture Tranche 1 launch campaign is now anticipated to begin in late summer 2025
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. military’s ambitious program to create a constellation of satellites for global communications and missile tracking is poised to begin launching hardware into orbit later this year, the Space Development Agency said March 7.
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With launches projected to start in late summer, more than 150 satellites that make up the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture Tranche 1 program could be deployed by the end of 2027.
The PWSA program, led by the U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency, is a mesh network of satellites designed for secure communications, missile tracking, and space-based support for military operations.
“The PWSA Tranche 1 launch campaign is now anticipated to begin in late summer 2025 and continue on a pace of approximately one launch per month until the entire Tranche 1 Transport and Tracking constellations are on orbit,” an SDA spokesperson said in a statement.
This new timeline represents a delay of nearly a year from the original September 2024 target, though the agency still aims to have the full constellation operational by early 2027. The updated projections come as the agency faces multiple challenges, including a recent leadership shakeup, supply chain issues and scrutiny from government watchdogs questioning the program’s technical readiness.
Supply chain constraints
The PWSA represents a significant departure from traditional military satellite networks, which typically rely on fewer, more expensive satellites in higher orbits. The new architecture calls for a mesh network of smaller, interconnected satellites equipped with optical inter-satellite links that allow data to be transmitted across the globe.
However, a recent Government Accountability Office report challenged the SDA’s decision to proceed with the next phase of satellite deployments, known as Tranche 1, before fully testing the critical laser communication technology in its demonstration satellites.
SDA defended its decision to push forward. As it moves forward with the Tranche 1 launch campaign, the agency aims to allow sufficient time for on-orbit testing and system validation. “It has become clear additional time is required for system readiness to meet the Tranche 1 minimum viable capability,” the spokesperson said. SDA plans to complete initial satellite test and checkout by mid-2026 and deliver full capability in early 2027.
An SDA official said the agency is confident that vendors will deliver enough satellites this year to begin Tranche 1 launches despite ongoing difficulties with suppliers, citing supply chain bottlenecks in areas like optical terminals, propulsion systems and encryption devices.
The PWSA program represents a major Pentagon investment in a next-generation space architecture. In February 2022, SDA awarded $1.8 billion in contracts to Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and York Space Systems to produce 126 satellites for Tranche 1 of the Transport Layer, designed to provide high-speed, low-latency data transmission.
An additional $1.3 billion was awarded to L3Harris and Northrop Grumman in July 2022 to produce 28 satellites for Tranche 1 of the Tracking Layer, which will detect and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
Leadership changes
The revised timeline comes amid turbulence at SDA. The agency’s former director, Derek Tournear, was placed on administrative leave in January following a procurement lawsuit filed by a vendor.
Despite these setbacks, senior Space Force officials have publicly backed the agency and its mission. Speaking at a defense industry conference last week, Gen. Michael Guetlein, vice chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force, described the SDA as “our lightning rod for cultural change.”
“Despite some stumblings this year, they’re pushing the limits of technology and the limits of the relationships with commercial as hard as they’re pushing,” Guetlein said. “They are also pushing hard on the industrial base. We’re going to see them stumble a little bit, but it’s nothing that I don’t think we can’t recover from, and I think their future is extremely bright.”
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SDA announced that the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture Tranche 1 launch campaign is now anticipated to begin in late summer 2025
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military’s ambitious program to create a constellation of satellites for global communications and missile tracking is poised to begin launching hardware into orbit later this year, the Space Development Agency said March 7.
With launches projected to start in late summer, more than 150 satellites that make up the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture Tranche 1 program could be deployed by the end of 2027.
The PWSA program, led by the U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency, is a mesh network of satellites designed for secure communications, missile tracking, and space-based support for military operations.
“The PWSA Tranche 1 launch campaign is now anticipated to begin in late summer 2025 and continue on a pace of approximately one launch per month until the entire Tranche 1 Transport and Tracking constellations are on orbit,” an SDA spokesperson said in a statement.
This new timeline represents a delay of nearly a year from the original September 2024 target, though the agency still aims to have the full constellation operational by early 2027. The updated projections come as the agency faces multiple challenges, including a recent leadership shakeup, supply chain issues and scrutiny from government watchdogs questioning the program’s technical readiness.
Supply chain constraints
The PWSA represents a significant departure from traditional military satellite networks, which typically rely on fewer, more expensive satellites in higher orbits. The new architecture calls for a mesh network of smaller, interconnected satellites equipped with optical inter-satellite links that allow data to be transmitted across the globe.
However, a recent Government Accountability Office report challenged the SDA’s decision to proceed with the next phase of satellite deployments, known as Tranche 1, before fully testing the critical laser communication technology in its demonstration satellites.
SDA defended its decision to push forward. As it moves forward with the Tranche 1 launch campaign, the agency aims to allow sufficient time for on-orbit testing and system validation. “It has become clear additional time is required for system readiness to meet the Tranche 1 minimum viable capability,” the spokesperson said. SDA plans to complete initial satellite test and checkout by mid-2026 and deliver full capability in early 2027.
An SDA official said the agency is confident that vendors will deliver enough satellites this year to begin Tranche 1 launches despite ongoing difficulties with suppliers, citing supply chain bottlenecks in areas like optical terminals, propulsion systems and encryption devices.
The PWSA program represents a major Pentagon investment in a next-generation space architecture. In February 2022, SDA awarded $1.8 billion in contracts to Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and York Space Systems to produce 126 satellites for Tranche 1 of the Transport Layer, designed to provide high-speed, low-latency data transmission.
An additional $1.3 billion was awarded to L3Harris and Northrop Grumman in July 2022 to produce 28 satellites for Tranche 1 of the Tracking Layer, which will detect and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
Leadership changes
The revised timeline comes amid turbulence at SDA. The agency’s former director, Derek Tournear, was placed on administrative leave in January following a procurement lawsuit filed by a vendor.
Despite these setbacks, senior Space Force officials have publicly backed the agency and its mission. Speaking at a defense industry conference last week, Gen. Michael Guetlein, vice chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force, described the SDA as “our lightning rod for cultural change.”
“Despite some stumblings this year, they’re pushing the limits of technology and the limits of the relationships with commercial as hard as they’re pushing,” Guetlein said. “They are also pushing hard on the industrial base. We’re going to see them stumble a little bit, but it’s nothing that I don’t think we can’t recover from, and I think their future is extremely bright.”
