2/1/2023 - Written By Caleb Henry
The Space Development Agency released a solicitation for the first 72 communications satellites in Tranche 2 of its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture constellation. The satellites are expected to launch in 2026, and represent a major opportunity for U.S. manufacturers to participate in building military satellites, especially nontraditional vendors. Current winners of PWSA satellite manufacturing contracts include: (1) Primes Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, which defended their utility against a growing cadre of new entrants big and small, (2) York Space Systems, the long secretive smallsat builder that remains one of the few U.S. manufacturers not bought by an aerospace prime contractor, (3) L3Harris, which caught the constellation bug in 2018 and has been gunning for them ever since, and (4) SpaceX whose manufacturing prowess with Starlink helped the company secure its first external satellite manufacturing deal. Who do we expect to compete hard for Tranche 2? Well, all the current SDA contractors plus those that didn’t make it, namely:
- Boeing, owner of Millennium Space Systems, a business solely focused on military smallsats like what SDA is deploying
- Astro Digital, whose participation in SDA’s Mandrake program, recent wins in the commercial sector and expanded manufacturing space make it a strong contender
- LeoStella, whose Washington State manufacturing plant is quieter than anticipated after shareholder BlackSky downsized its constellation from 60 satellites to today’s 14
- Maxar, which is building 14 buses for L3Harris but has its eye on a larger slice of the government pie
- Airbus OneWeb Satellites, the joint venture of Airbus and OneWeb that is almost (if not fully) done building ~650 satellites for OneWeb’s Gen-1 constellation, leaving a factory in search of work
- Raytheon, using its Blue Canyon Technologies division, which won a DARPA contract in 2020 for up to 20 satellites in Blackjack, the precursor program to SDA’s constellation
- Sierra Nevada Corporation, will still sells satellites after cleaving off Dream Chaser and other related cislunar programs in 2021
- And Rocket Lab, which has a marquee commercial contract to build 17-26 satellites with MDA, and has strong defense ties through its launch business with Electron and future Neutron rockets
SOURCE: https://spacenews.com/space-development-agency-issues-draft-solicitation-for-72-satellites/