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The Space Development Agency has selected 19 companies to compete for future contracts under a new program designed to quickly onboard new contractors for defense demonstration missions. Each company will receive an initial sum of $20,000 to cover administrative expenses.
These companies have been previously approved to bid on future prototype missions in support of SDA’s Deployed Combat Space Architecture, a massive constellation of satellites planned in low Earth orbit that will provide missile tracking and advanced communications capabilities to the Department of Defense.
The winners of the Hybrid Acquisition for LEO (HALO) program will compete for programs related to a constellation of satellites planned at PWSA called the Tranche 2 Demonstration and Experiment System (T2DES). (It’s a small slot, but each layer of the constellation is referred to as a “slice.”) T2DES will likely include about 20 satellites configured in several different shapes. according to Solicit the programThe HALO contracts will “focus on rapid, integrated mission demonstrations designed to launch two identical satellites” in a period of 12 to 18 months after their award date.
These satellites will enhance what SDA calls Tranche 2, a vast constellation of more than 200 satellites that will provide high-speed communications and data relays for the Department of Defense.
But as the group of winners suggests, HALO award winners will also be able to compete for other missions to support PWSA for capabilities such as launch or on-orbit transfer. A firefly, for example, is described In a statement The upcoming Elytra orbital transfer vehicle is a product that could support SDA goals. Other companies also praised SDA for developing the software.
“This selection underscores our commitment to innovation in space technology and our readiness to support SDA’s mission of enhancing national security through advanced space capabilities,” said Trey Pappas, vice president of business development at CesiumAstro.
The 19 companies selected through the program include venture-backed startups such as Apex, Capella Space, CesiumAstro, Firefly Aerospace, Impulse Space, LeoStella, Momentus, Muon Space, SpaceX, and Turion Space. Airbus, AST Space Mobile, Astro Digital, Geneva Technologies, Kepler Communications, Kuiper Government Solutions, NovaWurks, Terran Orbital and York Space Systems were also selected.
The Space Development Agency has already awarded contracts worth hundreds of millions to private companies to help create a constellation of missile tracking and communications satellites in low Earth orbit. Programs like HALO aim to help non-traditional defense contractors compete for these lucrative awards. The SDA expects to award multiple contracts to vendors in the HALO program, the agency said.
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