SDA’s
Tranche
1
launches
are
now
anticipated
to
begin
in
summer
2025,
starting
with
satellites
for
the
Transport
Layer.
(Image
courtesy
of
Northrop
Grumman)
WASHINGTON
—
The
Space
Development
Agency
(SDA)
today
announced
it
is
again
postponing
launch
of
its
first-generation
“operational”
satellites
designed
to
provide
data
relay
and
missile
warning/tracking,
with
a
first
lift-off
now
planned
for
“late
summer.”
The
launch
setback
—
which
represents
yet
another
piece
of
bad
news
for
the
embattled
agency
—
was
recently
decided
by
SDA’s
current
leadership,
“in
conjunction
with”
that
of
the
Space
Force,
an
SDA
official
told
reporters
today.
William
Blauser,
former
deputy
head
of
the
department’s
Rapid
Capabilities
Office
(RCO),
currently
is
the
acting
head
of
SDA,
following
the
Jan.
16
suspension
of
Director
Derek
Tournear
over
alleged
mismanagement
of
a
contract
award.
SDA
originally
had
hoped
to
begin
launching
the
Tranche
1
Transport
and
Tracking
Layer
constellations
for
its
Proliferated
Warfighter
Space
Architecture
(PWSA)
stationed
in
low
Earth
orbit
(LEO)
in
September
2024.
That
date
was
subsequently
pushed
back
a
few
months
to
either
very
late
2024
or
early
2025.
Tranche
1
will
include
a
total
of
158
satellites,
according
to
an
SDA
fact
sheet
[PDF]:
126
satellites
in
the
data
relay
Transport
Layer,
28
missile
warning/tracking
satellites
in
the
Tracking
Layer,
and
4
“missile
defense
demonstration”
satellites.
The
first
launch
will
involve
Transport
Layer
birds,
an
SDA
official
told
reporters
today,
but
the
agency
is
not
yet
sure
how
many
satellites
will
go
up
and
whether
satellites
from
all
of
the
three
current
vendors
will
be
included.
Northrop
Grumman,
Lockheed
Martin
and
start-up
York
Space
Systems
all
won
shares
of
a
$1.8
billion
contract
award
in
February
2022.
The
plan,
according
to
the
SDA
announcement,
is
to
then
undertake
one
launch
per
month
until
the
all
the
Transport
and
Tracking
Layer
satellites
are
on-orbit.
“SDA
continues
to
aggressively
work
toward
the
first
Tranche
1
launch;
however,
as
we
progress
through
a
normal
assembly,
integration,
and
testing
campaign,
with
the
added
challenge
of
late
supplier
deliveries,
it
has
become
clear
additional
time
is
required
for
system
readiness
to
meet
the
Tranche
1
minimum
viable
capability,”
the
agency
said.
The
SDA
official
acknowledged
that
one
of
the
problems
pushing
back
the
Tranche
1
launch
has
been
the
development
of
optical
communications
terminals
(OCTs)
—
an
issue
highlighted
in
a
recent
report
from
the
Government
Accountability
Office.
Laser
links
are
foundational
to
the
workings
of
the
PWSA,
which
is
being
designed
as
a
“mesh”
network
that
uses
laser
links
to
rapidly
transfer
data
among
themselves
—
and
eventually
to
ground
stations.
“OCT
terminals
is
definitely
a
challenge,”
the
official
said.
“We’re
working
to
continue
to
help
scale
that
and
address
any
hang
ups
there.”
Other
problems
have
included
supplies
of
propulsion
units
and
vendor
difficulties
in
getting
“approvals”
for
“encryption
devices,”
the
SDA
official
noted.
(While
the
SDA
official
declined
to
elaborate
on
the
latter
issue,
the
National
Security
Agency
is
charged
with
approving
encryption
devices
used
by
the
Defense
Department
and
other
national
security
agencies.)
Despite
the
launch
delays,
the
SDA
announcement
stressed
that
the
agency
still
intends
to
be
able
to
provide
region-by-region
coverage
for
users
in
the
field
early
in
2027.
“SDA
is
committed
to
completing
on-orbit
test
and
checkout
of
the
initial
satellites
by
mid-2026
and
delivering
the
entire
initial
warfighting
capability
of
the
PWSA
in
early
calendar
year
2027,
consistent
with
warfighter
expectations,”
the
announcement
said.
“SDA’s
top
priority
is
to
quickly
deliver
capabilities
promised
to
the
warfighter.
Launch
is
a
major
milestone
but
one
in
a
much
larger
path
to
delivering
viable
capabilities.
Our
goal
remains
to
rapidly
deliver
functional
capabilities
with
a
high
degree
of
operational
confidence,”
it
added.