SPEED. DELIVERY. AGILITY.

WHO WE ARE

Speed. Delivery. Agility.

Recognized as the Department of Defense's constructive disruptor for space acquisition, the Space Development Agency (SDA) will quickly deliver needed space-based capabilities to the joint warfighter to support terrestrial missions through development, fielding, and operation of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. SDA capitalizes on a unique business model that values speed and lowers costs by harnessing commercial development to achieve a proliferated architecture and enhance resilience. SDA will deliver a minimum viable product - on time, every two years- by employing spiral development methods, adding capabilities to future generations as the threat evolves.

CAPABILITY LAYERS

TRANSPORT LAYER

SDA's Transport Layer will provide assured, resilient, low-latency military data and communications connectivity worldwide to a full range of warfighter platforms.

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BATTLE MANAGEMENT LAYER

SDA's Battle Management Layer will provide architecture tasking, mission command and control, and data dissemination to support time-sensitive kill chain closure at campaign scales.

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TRACKING LAYER

SDA's Tracking Layer will provide global indications, warning, tracking, and targeting of advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems.

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CUSTODY LAYER

SDA's Custody Layer will provide 24/7, all-weather custody of time-sensitive, left-of-launch surface mobile targets to support targeting for advanced weapons.

 

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EMERGING CAPABILITIES LAYER

SDA's Emerging Capabilities (EC) Cell provides a foundation for new mission concepts that deliver quantifiable warfighter benefits. EC will transition technologies and capabilities into future tranches by working closely with the military services and DoD research community to fly and evaluate select experiments and assess their potential to enable mission accomplishment.

 

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NAVIGATION LAYER

The Navigation Layer will establish a GPS-independent navigation capability for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) using optical inter-satellite ranging, and optical space to ground links.

 

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SUPPORT LAYER

SDA's Support Layer will enable ground and launch segments to support a responsive space architecture.

 

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Lockheed Martin’s SPD Center. Image: Lockheed Martin

SDA Is Strengthening Space Industrial Base, Execs Say

Date: May 3, 2024 | Outlet: Payload | By: Jacqueline Feldscher A five-year-old agency within the Pentagon founded with a mandate to move quickly is stimulating investments that make the entire small sat industrial base more resilient and scalable, according to half a dozen top industry execs.  While the Pentagon is known for delayed timelines…

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Space Development Agency Makes Award to Build Eight Satellites for FOO Fighter Program

Date: April 30, 2024 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Space Development Agency (SDA) today announced an award using Other Transaction Authority (OTA) with a total potential value of approximately $414 million to build eight satellites, for launch in first quarter fiscal year 2027, to accelerate fire-control capability for global detection, warning, and precision tracking of advanced…

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SDA Issues Request for Information for Future Optical Communication Waveforms

Posted On: April 4, 2024 Response Date: April 18, 2024 SDA seeks industry feedback on optical communications waveforms, ongoing work with other U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) agencies on datalinks and waveforms, and integrating datalinks and waveforms on future Tranches of the Proliferated Warfighter Defense Architecture (PWSA). This request for information (RFI) includes risk reduction…

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SDA Issues Solicitation for Tranche 2 Transport Layer- Gamma Variant Space Vehicles

Posted On: March 26, 2024 Response Date: April 30, 2024 SDA seeks industry submissions for the final of three types of Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL) space vehicles—T2TL Gamma. This solicitation expands upon the foundation for Tranche 2 of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) previously described in the T2TL Alpha and Beta solicitations. SDA…

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STEC BAA Amendment: Call for Proposals for Studies for On-demand Space Vehicle De-orbit as a Service

Posted on: March 25, 2024 Response Date: May 1, 2024 Under the current Systems, Technologies, and Emerging Capabilities (STEC) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), FA240124S0001, the Space Development Agency (SDA) is issuing this Call for Proposals for engineering studies, analyses, and technical trades to support assisted, on-demand space vehicle de-orbit as a service for the Proliferated…

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SDA, MDA CONFIRM SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF TRANCHE 0 TRACKING AND THE HYPERSONIC AND BALLISTIC TRACKING SPACE SENSOR SATELLITES

Date: Feb. 15, 2024 On Wednesday, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and Space Development Agency (SDA) confirmed the successful launch of six satellites to low-Earth orbit at 5:30 p.m. ET from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The satellites, which include two satellites for MDA’s Hypersonic and Ballistic…

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SDA, MDA ANNOUNCE UPCOMING LAUNCH OF THE TRANCHE 0 TRACKING AND HYPERSONIC AND BALLISTIC TRACKING SPACE SENSOR AND SATELLITES

The Space Development Agency (SDA) and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) prepare to launch six satellites to low-Earth orbit on Feb. 14. The satellites will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space utilizing SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. This includes two satellites for MDA’s Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) and the final four SDA Tranche 0 (T0) Tracking Layer satellites of its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). (Photo Credit: Courtesy of SpaceX)

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Space Development Agency Systems, Technologies, and Emerging Capabilities (STEC) Broad Agency Announcement 

Posted On: January 16, 2024 Original Date Offers Due: January 15, 2025 Through this updated Systems, Technologies, and Emerging Capabilities (STEC) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), SDA is soliciting executive summaries, invited proposal abstracts, and invited proposals for novel architecture concepts, systems, technologies, and capabilities that enable leap-ahead improvements for future tranches of the agency’s Proliferated…

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Space Development Agency Makes Awards to Build 54 Tranche 2 Tracking Layer Satellites

Tranche 2 Tracking Layer includes new prime vendor to produce missile warning/missile tracking and missile defense satellites Date: Jan. 16, 2024 WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Space Development Agency (SDA) today announced the award of three prototype agreements to build 54 satellites to establish the Tranche 2 (T2) Tracking Layer, which will proliferate missile warning/missile tracking (MW/MT)…

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Space Development Agency Makes Third Award to Build 18 Additional Beta Variant Satellites for Tranche 2 Transport Layer

Agency selects new Tranche 2 team member to produce variant of data relay and tactical communication space vehicles Date: Jan. 8, 2024 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Space Development Agency (SDA) today announced the award of a prototype agreement with a total value of approximately $515 million to build and operate 18 Tranche 2 Transport Layer…

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