by SDA has announced that the Groliferated Warfighter Space architecture Tranche 1 Launch Campaign is now expected in the late summer 2025
WASHINGTON – The ambitious program of the US Army to create a constellation of satellites for worldwide communication and rocket is ready to launch hardware later this year to launch the turnover, said the Space Development Agency 7 March.
With launches that are expected to start in late summer, by the end of 2027, more than 150 satellites that form the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture Tranche 1 program can be used.
The PWSA program, led by the Space Development Agency of the US Space Force, is a mesh network of satellites designed for safe communication, rake tracking and space-based support for military operations.
“The PWSA Tranche 1 -Lancing campaign is now expected to start in the late summer 2025 and continue with a pace of about one launch per month until the entire tranche 1 transport and tracking establishment is on a job,” said a SDA spokesperson in a statement.
This new timeline represents a delay of almost a year of the original goal of September 2024, although the agency still wants to have the entire constellation operational at the beginning of 2027. The updated projections come when the Bureau stands for several challenges, including a recent leadership recording, supply chain problems and control of the government car dogs that question the technical readiness of the program.
Supply Chain restrictions
The PWSA represents a considerable deviation from traditional military satellite networks, which usually depend on less, more expensive satellites in higher tracks. The new architecture requires a mesh network of smaller, interconnected satellites equipped with optical inter-satellite connections with which data can be sent all over the world.
A recent report on the government’s accountability office, however, disputed the SDA’s decision to continue with the next phase of satellite implementations, known as Tranche 1, before he fully tested the critical laser communication technology in its demonstration satellites.
SDA defended his decision to move forward. While it continues with the Tranche 1 launch campaign, the agency wants to give sufficient time for testing on Orbit and System Validation. “It has become clear that extra time is required for Systeidism to meet the Tranche 1 minimal viable possibilities,” said the spokesperson. SDA is planning to complete the first satellite test and cash register against mid -2026 and deliver full possibilities at the beginning of 2027.
A SDA officer said that the agency is convinced that suppliers will deliver enough satellites this year to start with Tranche 1 launch, despite constant difficulties with suppliers, with reference to supply chain bottlenecks in areas such as optical terminals, drive systems and coding equipment.
The PWSA program represents an important investment in Pentagon in a space architecture of the next generation. In February 2022, SDA awarded $ 1.8 billion in contracts to Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and York Space Systems to produce 126 satellites for Tranche 1 of the transport layer, designed to offer high-speed, low-latency data transmission.
An extra $ 1.3 billion was awarded to L3HARRIS and Northrop Grumman in July 2022 to produce 28 satellites for tranche 1 of the tracking layer, which detect and follow ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
Leadership changes
The revised timeline comes in the midst of turbulence at SDA. The former director of the Bureau, Derek Tournear, was placed on January with administrative leave after a purchasing procedure that was filed by a supplier.
Despite these setbacks, Senior Space Force officials have publicly supported the agency and his mission. At a conference of the defense -last week, General Michael Guetlein, vice -chef of space operations for the US Space Force, described the SDA as “our lightning distance for cultural change.”
“Despite a few stumlings this year, they push the boundaries of technology and the boundaries of relationships with commercial as hard as they push,” said Guetlein. “They also push hard on the industrial basis. We are going to see them stumble a bit, but it is nothing I think we can’t recover, and I think their future is extremely rosy. “
