New space company York Space Systems and Ball Aerospace have each won construction and operation contracts from the Space Development Agency (SDA), an agency within the USA’s Space Force.
Colorado based York Space was awarded a US$200 million contract from the SDA,, to build and operate 12 satellites. The satellites, carrying military communications payloads, will be used in the Tranche 1 Demonstration and Experimentation System (T1DES) program. The SDA plans to test the military payloads, which are currently used to provide mobile wireless services from geostationary satellites, in low Earth orbit.
Ball Aerospace landed a US$176 million contract to construct, operate and ensure launch services for 10 experimental satellites for the SDA’s National Defense Space Architecture Experimental Testbed (NExT) program. The satellites are expected to launch between 2024-5, and will be operated by Ball Aerospace from its base in Colorado.
York Space Systems headquarters in Colorado. Courtesy: York Space Systems
