Space Systems Command’s Assured Access to Space delivers 21 data transport satellites on orbit

The US Space Force’s Space Development Agency (SDA) has announced the successful launch of the first Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture Tranche 1 (T1) Transport Layer space vehicles (SV) from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.

With the support of Space System Command’s Assured Access to Space (AATS) and Space Launch Delta 30, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket delivered on orbit 21 T1 data transport SVs built by York Space Systems that will provide low-latency communication links to support the warfighter with a resilient network of integrated capabilities, including tracking of advanced missile threats, enabled by beyond-line-of-sight tactical data links from low-Earth orbit (LEO).

“The start of Tranche 1 delivery, just over six years since SDA stood up as an agency, is a remarkable accomplishment highlighting the speed at which the agency moves. More than that, as the PWSA begins to support military operations, it will enhance our strategic advantage by serving the joint warfighting force with operational capabilities previously thought infeasible from LEO,” said SDA acting director GP Sandhoo. “We could not deliver these capabilities to the warfighter without our industry partners who have embraced SDA’s spiral development model, moving quickly to deliver commercial technology through the PWSA every two years. The SDA team is grateful to our many mission partners on this launch including the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program and Space Launch Delta 30.”

Beginning in 2027, T1 will provide an initial warfighting capability through the PWSA to deliver regional persistence for tactical military data channels like Link 16, along with advanced missile tracking and missile warning, and beyond-line-of-sight targeting plus demonstration of UHF and S-band tactical satellite communications. This timeline supports warfighter needs communicated to SDA by U.S. combatant commands through the agency’s Warfighter Council.

“We had a great launch today for the Space Development Agency, putting this array of space vehicles into orbit in support of their revolutionary new architecture,” said USSF Col. Ryan Hiserote, system program director for AATS’ Launch Execution. “The NSSL team has been preparing for the start of these higher cadence operations and we are ready and eager for the remainder of SDA’s T1 launches. We’re looking ahead, focused on countering the pacing threats and cementing the launch ops responsiveness needed for the future, right now.”

Tranche 1 launches will continue with an approximate cadence of one launch per month for the next nine months, using the NSSL launch providers, until the full space vehicle constellation is on orbit.

For each NSSL launch, the integration and mission assurance activities begin far in advance of launch. With missions coming at a higher cadence such as the SDA launches, these activities run simultaneously, showcasing the AATS team’s efficient working processes with both the launch provider and space vehicle teams.

“Establishing and documenting spaceflight worthiness for each of our missions is essential for work in the NSSL program,” said Dr. Walt Lauderdale, SSC’s chief of Falcon Systems and Operations and NSSL mission director. “Our team, in partnership with our launch service providers, work tirelessly throughout the launch campaigns to ensure successful delivery to orbit.”

The T1 constellation will consist of 154 operational SVs, including 126 Transport Layer SVs and 28 Tracking Layer SVs, plus four missile defense demonstration SVs, equipped with optical communications terminals and Ka-band radio frequency receive/transmit capability.

Two state-of-the-art SDA Space Operations Centers will operate the T1 constellation from Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota and Redstone Arsenal, Alabama while a global network of ground entry points provide support.

The launch vehicle deployed the satellites into an insertion orbit where SDA will begin test and checkout procedures of the bus and mission payloads, which will eventually include orbit raising to reach the intended orbit at approximately 1,000 km.

SDA’s mesh network of optically-connected satellites is primarily focused on tactical data delivery to the warfighter at “the edge”, tracking and targeting for advanced missile threats, and beyond-line-of-sight targeting for time sensitive or mobile targets on land, at sea, and in the air. The PWSA is part of a multi-orbit strategy being carried out across the US Space Force to deliver the combatant commanders the capabilities they need to deter and defeat threats in, from, and to space.