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The Space Development Agency ( SDA ) has selected 19 companies to contend for future contract bridge under a new program design to rapidly onboard new contractors for defence demonstration missions . Each company will receive an initial $ 20,000 to plow administrative expenses .
These troupe have essentially been preapproved to bid on succeeding epitome missionary station to support the SDA ’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture ( PWSA ) , a monumental planned planet configuration in low Earth cranial orbit that will provide projectile tracking and advanced communications capabilities for the Department of Defense ( DOD ) .
The Hybrid Acquisition for Proliferated LEO ( HALO ) computer program awardees will contend on syllabus related to a batch of planned satellites in the PWSA called the Tranche 2 Demonstration and Experimentation System ( T2DES ) . ( It ’s a mouthful , but each layer of the constellation is bring up to as a “ tranche . ” ) T2DES will likely include around 20 orbiter configured into several variants . According tothe program appeal , HALO contracts “ will focus on speedy , end - to - death mission demonstrations plan to set up 2 identical satellite ” between 12 and 18 months after the honor date .
These satellites will augment what the SDA calls the Tranche 2 transport layer , a huge constellation of over 200 satellites that will allow high-pitched - speed communicating and data relays for the DOD .
But as the pool of awardees suggests , the HALO awardees will also be able-bodied to compete for other missions to support PWSA for capabilities like launching or on - orbit transport . Firefly , for example , toutedin a statementits outgoing Elytra orbital transference fomite as a product that could support the SDA ’s objective . Other companies also recommend the SDA for the development of the program .
“ This selection emphasise our commitment to innovation in quad applied science and our readiness to plunk for SDA ’s missionary post of raise national security through advanced outer space capabilities , ” sound out CesiumAstro ’s VP of business organization development , Trey Pappas .
The 19 companies selected via the programme let in speculation - backed inauguration like Apex , Capella Space , CesiumAstro , Firefly Aerospace , Impulse Space , LeoStella , Momentus , Muon Space , SpaceX , and Turion Space . Airbus , AST SpaceMobile , Astro Digital , Geneva Technologies , Kepler Communications , Kuiper Government Solutions , NovaWurks , Terran Orbital , and York Space Systems were also selected .
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The Space Development Agency has already awarded century of millions in contracts to secret companies to help establish a projectile trailing and communications satellite configuration in low Earth orbit . programme like HALO are to assist nontraditional defense contractors compete for these potentially lucrative awards . The SDA promise to award multiple contracts to vendors in the HALO broadcast , the agency tell .
