SDA demos laser links crucial for future SATCOM, missile tracking network

Date: September 4, 2024 | Outlet: Breaking Defense | By: Theresa Hitchens WASHINGTON — Space Development Agency (SDA) Director Derek Tournear announced today that the agency has successfully demonstrated the ability of its optical communications terminals to link satellites together — a capability that he has acknowledged as the longest pole in the tent for its planned mesh network…

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

Link 16 is a tactical military data network, used by US and NATO air-, sea- and land-base platforms. (Viasat image.)

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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SDA Releases Updated DRAFT Solicitation for Tranche 1 Demonstration and Experimentation System (T1DES)

Original Response Date: June 3, 2022 The Space Development Agency (SDA) seeks input through a Tranche 1 Demonstration and Experimentation System (T1DES) DRAFT solicitation. SDA previously released a DRAFT Request for Proposal (RFP) on this topic in late 2021; however, this document is updated to a DRAFT solicitation to reflect the Agency’s updated acquisition strategy.…

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Mission Assurance: NRL Space Research Group to Validate SDA Satellite Interoperability

WASHINGTON – A U.S. Naval Research Laboratory research group will use its background in space system development to help ensure future satellites have the capability to work together.

Announced Aug. 31, NRL’s work supports the Space Development Agency’s two multi-million dollar contract awards for the development of the first generation of the Transport Layer, representing the first major and highly-visible step toward developing the National Defense Space Architecture’s inaugural tranche, entitled Tranche Zero.

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