US Space Development Agency awards contract for missile tracking and targeting satellites

News, US March 4, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

U.S. Space Development Agency has awarded a $250 million contract to Raytheon to develop satellite constellations that will warn, track, and target advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems.

According to the Raytheon Technologies statement, the company received an award valued at more than $250 million “to design, develop and deliver a seven-vehicle missile tracking satellite constellation, as well as support launch and ground operations” by the Space Development Agency.

The seven-vehicle satellite constellation will feature Raytheon’s Wide Field of View overhead persistent infrared sensor, Blue Canyon Technologies’ Saturn-class microsatellite bus, and SEAKR Engineering’s electronics payload.

“Once deployed, the low-Earth orbit constellation of networked satellites will become the fifth plane of satellites providing missile warning and tracking for the U.S. Department of Defense,” the statement added. This program is a critical element of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

A Space Development Agency spokesperson said that the U.S. plans to launch these satellites “around the end of the calendar year 2025, after the other Tranche 1 space vehicles previously on contract are launched”. The spokesperson added that “This stands to reason because the other performers got an earlier start to their Tranche 1 work (T1Tracking original contacts were announced in July 2022).”

*^{Raytheon Technologies to develop satellite constellations that will provide warning, tracking, and targeting of advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems}*

President of Space & C2 at Raytheon Intelligence & Space, Dave Broadbent said, “Developing a resilient and affordable proliferated satellite constellation in low-Earth orbit will improve our ability to track emerging threats like hypersonic missiles.”

Broadbent further added that “Continuing to develop this architecture with SDA and our industry partners will be a high priority for us in the coming months.”

One of the world’s largest aerospace and defense companies, Raytheon Technologies has been developing missile warning systems for decades. Since acquiring Blue Canyon Technologies and SEAKR Engineering, the company has expanded its space payload and satellite bus capabilities, becoming a leading provider of space systems to a number of programs. Raytheon also seeks to leverage existing designs, available technologies, and standard components to reduce technical risk and speed delivery.