The US Space Development Agency (SDA) has awarded Northrop Grumman an agreement with a total potential value of approximately $732 million to design and build 38 data transport satellites for military usage.

This announcement for what are described as the “Alpha” batch of satellites, follows an August 2023 award to Northrop Grumman of 36 satellites as part of Tranche 2 Transport Layer – for the “Beta” batch. Alpha and Beta satellites are designed to interoperate once in orbit.

This contract includes supporting ground elements and five years of operations and sustainment with the satellites scheduled to launch starting December 2026.

Blake Bullock, VP/communication systems, Northrop Grumman, commented: “Northrop Grumman, in partnership with our industry teammates, is fully committed to the Space Development Agency’s vision of fielding a next-generation, low-Earth orbit architecture connecting and protecting our warfighters wherever they serve.”

To date, the SDA has announced awards to Northrop Grumman for 132 satellites.

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Categories: Articles, Satellite

Tags: Northrop Grumman, satellite, Space, usa