spacetoday.net: SDA awards $2.5 billion in contracts for missile-warning satellites

Posted: Sat, Jan 20, 2024, 11:24 AM ET (1624 GMT)
The Space Development Agency (SDA) has awarded $2.5 billion in contracts to three companies for missile-tracking satellites. SDA announced Tuesday it selected L3Harris, Lockheed Martin and Sierra Space to each build 18 Tranche 2 Tracking Layer satellites. Each vendor will provide 16 satellites equipped with wide-field-of-view infrared sensors and two satellites with more sophisticated infrared sensors that can generate "fire control-quality tracks," said SDA. The satellites are projected to launch in 2027 and would account for about half of the global architecture of about 100 satellites envisioned by the agency. While L3Harris and Lockheed have previously won SDA contracts, this is not only the first SDA award for Sierra Space but also its first major deal to build satellites for the U.S. military.