The U.S. Space Force is moving forward with plans to procure 27 missile-defense satellites for a medium Earth orbit constellation — using an acquisition process that mirrors the model adopted by the Space Development Agency for the military’s low Earth orbit architecture. “We are acquiring our architecture through spiral development, with new capabilities being placed on orbit every two to three years,” said Col. Heather Bogstie, senior materiel leader for missile warning, tracking and defense at the Space Systems Command. The first nine satellites of a medium Earth orbit (MEO) missile-warning and missile-tracking constellation, called Epoch 1, are projected to launch in 2027. A second procurement of 18 satellites, called Epoch 2, will follow two to three years later, Bogstie said Oct. 19 at the MilSat Symposium in Mountain View, California. “We are building a multi-layered sensor satellite network in both higher and lower MEO orbits, designed to sense a variety of missile threats, including the very fast, very dim hypersonic glide vehicles,” she said. Two vendors already were selected to supply Epoch 1 satellites: Millennium Space Systems and Raytheon. Both companies won contracts in 2021 to design digital models of MEO tracking satellites. A third vendor, L3Harris Technologies, in June 2023 got a contract to design a third digital prototype. Only Millennium Space Systems and Raytheon received development contracts with options to each produce up to three spacecraft for in-orbit demonstrations planned for late 2026. Bogstie said “continued and open competition is a central tenet to our acquisition strategy.”
Full story : Space Force to begin procurement of missile-tracking satellites for medium Earth orbit constellation.
