Space Development Agency’s Tranche 0 Mission Successfully Launched

Credit: SDA

The Space Development Agency (SDA) successfully launched the first ten satellites in its Tranche 0 mission. This launch consisted of eight data-transport satellites, which will make up part of the transport layer, and two missile-tracking satellites, which will be part of the tracking layer of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) low Earth orbit constellation. Tranche 0 will ultimately have a total of 28 satellites. The remaining are scheduled to launch in June 2023. 

The SDA plans to launch several groups of satellites, known as tranches, annually that will become part of the PWSA. Tranche 0 will support military operations, including advanced missile-tracking tests beginning summer of 2023, and will be used to demonstrate the viability of the program. 

The PSWA will be comprised of hundreds of interconnected, low-cost satellites, which will orbit approximately 1000 kilometers above Earth. The tracking layer of the PSWA is designed to act as a defense shield against ballistic and hypersonic missiles. The data received from the tracking layer will be transmitted to the transport layer, ensuring the missile’s location data can be securely transmitted to military command centers. The low Earth orbit will allow the constellation to be better positioned to track missiles, as opposed to the current defense satellites, which are located 37,000 kilometers above Earth. 

Tranche 1 is scheduled to launch in late 2024 with 173 satellites to become part of the first operational generation of the PWSA. 

With parts on board, VPT is proud to be part of this historic mission. We congratulate everyone involved in its current and future success.