News

The Space Development Agency’s resilient layered network of military satellites and supporting elements is now the “Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture” or PWSA. The architecture, formerly known as the “National Defense Space Architecture,” was renamed to more specifically reflect the agency’s mission to deliver needed space-based capabilities to the joint warfighter to support terrestrial missions through development,…

Date: January 23, 2023 | Outlet: Breaking Defense | By: Theresa Hitchens The name change for SDA’s seven-layer network of satellite and ground systems was approved by both Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and space acquisition czar Frank Calvelli, and is designed to better reflect the network’s actual mission, SDA Director Derek Tournear told Breaking…

Date: January 4, 2022   |   Outlet: Redstone Rocket   |   By: Dr. Derek Tournear Team Redstone, Greetings from the Space Development Agency. As a new tenant, SDA is excited to join the Redstone Arsenal community. To clear up any confusion, while we do have a space mission, SDA is not part of U.S. Space Command. Three…

Date: December 8, 2022 | Outlet: Defense News | By: Courtney Albon WASHINGTON — Just three years ago, the future of the U.S. Space Development Agency was uncertain. Two of its strongest advocates in the Pentagon had resigned, many viewed its mission as duplicative and confusing, and some speculated the organization, created to change the…

Date: December 5, 2022 | Outlet: Payload | By: Rachael Zisk Over the last few years, the space industry has grown by leaps and bounds, pushing our space capabilities forward at an unprecedented rate. While its weapons systems may be fast, the Pentagon’s procurement process isn’t exactly known for its speed. Acquisition of new technology…

All Tranche 1 Hardware and Integration Pieces Now on Contract The Space Development Agency (SDA) today announced it has awarded a firm-fixed price Other Transaction prototype agreement, with a total potential value of approximately $200 million, to York Space Systems of Denver, Colorado, for the establishment of the Tranche 1 Demonstration and Experimentation System (T1DES)…

The Space Development Agency (SDA) today announced it has awarded one firm-fixed price Other Transaction prototype agreement, with a total potential value of approximately $176 million, to Ball Aerospace of Broomfield, Colorado, for the establishment of the National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA) Experimental Testbed (NExT). The prototype agreement includes development, manufacture, deployment, launch, and operations…

Date: October 1, 2022 | Outlet: Space Force News | By: Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs The Space Development Agency (SDA) transferred to the U.S. Space Force (USSF) on October 1, 2022. “As we transfer to the U.S. Space Force, SDA looks forward to continuing our important work on the National Defense Space…

Date: September 20, 2022 | Outlet: Breaking Defense | By: Theresa Hitchens AFA 2022 — The Space Development Agency’s rapid development-to-acquisition cycle could serve as a “model” for the rest of the Space Force acquisition community, the service’s acquisition executive said today — signaling the potential for a major shake-up in the Pentagon’s traditional approach that has…

Date: August 17, 2022 | Outlet: Kratos Constellations Podcast At the recent Small Satellite Conference (SmallSat) in Logan, Utah, Space Development Agency (SDA) Technical Director, Dr. Frank Turner, spoke about the importance of the SDA’s National Defense Space Architecture Transport Layer to Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JACD2). While at SmallSat, Dr. Turner also spoke…