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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New SDA Open Topic under Small Business Opportunities

The Space Development Agency (SDA) views small businesses as critical contributors to the performance of research and development supporting national security through space and is soliciting small business participation in the advancement of the Proliferated Warfare Space Architecture. On November 28, SDA announced SDA24-P001 the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) Advanced Capability Development Open Topic…

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Space Development Agency Successfully Completes Space to Ground Transmission from Link 16 Tactical Data Network

Demonstration included active and passive Link 16 network entry, transmitting messages to and from low Earth orbit to terrestrial radios Date: Nov. 28, 2023 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Space Development Agency (SDA) today announced it successfully demonstrated the first-ever Link 16 network entry through space to ground connection from low Earth orbit (LEO) to a…

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SDA Issues Request for Future Optical Communication Waveforms

Posted On: November 6, 2023 Response Date: December 8, 2023 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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Link 16 is a tactical military data network, used by US and NATO air-, sea- and land-base platforms. (Viasat image.)

SDA gets OK to begin limited testing of data satellites Link 16 nodes

Date: October 26, 2023 | Outlet: Breaking Defense | By: Theresa Hitchens WASHINGTON — The Space Development Agency (SDA) finally can begin testing Link-16 signals from its Transport Layer of data relay satellites in low Earth orbit, having just received approval from a key international regulatory body — although the agency remains caught up in a long-running Defense Department…

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Space Development Agency Makes Awards to Build 100 Alpha Variant Satellites for Tranche 2 Transport Layer

Agency builds Tranche 2 team to produce second of three variants of data relay and tactical communication space vehicles Date: October 30, 2023 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Space Development Agency (SDA) today announced awards of two Other Transaction Authority (OTA) prototype agreements with a total value of approximately $1.3 billion to build and operate the…

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

Posted On: October 23, 2023 Response Date: Monday, November 6, 2023 SDA seeks industry feedback for the final of three variants of Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL) space vehicles—T2TL Gamma. This request for information (RFI) expands upon the foundation for Tranche 2 of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) previously described in the T2TL Alpha…

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SDA Requests Information on Potential Space Antenna Array Payloads

Posted On: October 17, 2023 Original Response Date: November 17, 2023 The Space Development Agency (SDA) seeks industry feedback on potential space antenna array payloads, which could prove valuable for future SDA tranches and/or experimentation. Antenna arrays provide benefits from beam agility to interference rejection but have typically been associated with high cost, power, and…

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SDA Issues Solicitation for Tranche 2 Tracking Layer Space Vehicles

Original Date Offers Due: October 6, 2023 SDA seeks industry proposals for Tranche 2 (T2) Tracking Layer space vehicles of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA).  The solicitation, issued using Other Transaction Authority and posted Sept. 5, 2023, seeks to advance the operational capability of Tranche 1 PWSA and further its resiliency. The T2 Tracking…

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tranche graphic_T0

Space Development Agency Completes Second Successful Launch of Tranche 0 Satellites

SDA delivers 13 additional satellites on orbit for Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture demonstrations Date: September 2, 2023 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Space Development Agency (SDA) today announced the second successful launch of space vehicles from the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). The launch included Transport and Tracking Layer satellites that will demonstrate low-latency tactical data…

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Space Development Agency Makes Awards to Build 72 Beta Variant Satellites for Tranche 2 Transport Layer

Date: August 21, 2023 Agency selects initial Tranche 2 team members to produce first of several variants of data relay and tactical communication space vehicles WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Space Development Agency (SDA) today announced the awards of two prototype agreements with a total value of approximately $1.5 billion to build and operate the Tranche…

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