National security insights for space professionals. Delivered Tuesdays.

In this week's edition:

• Space Development Agency urges industry to diversify supply base

• Space Force eyes direct-to-cell satellite technology

• Space Rapid Capabilities Office selects 20 vendors for $1 billion IDIQ

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Today's highlights:

An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches through the fog during an operational test at 1:46 a.m. Pacific Time at Vandenberg Space Force base, Calif, 6 June 2024. ICBM test launches demonstrate that the U.S. ICBM fleet is ready, reliable, and effective in leveraging dominance in an area of strategic competition. (U.S. Space Force photo by Senior Airman Ryan Quijas)

MISSILES AWAY — The Air Force Global Strike Command, in partnership with the Space Force, completed back-to-back test launches of unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missiles from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California last week.

These tests are part of periodic activities to demonstrate the safety, security, reliability and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear deterrent.
Over 300 such tests have been conducted before.
"The ability to complete two operational test launches in one week is a testimony to the excellence and professionalism of the Airmen and Guardians involved in this mission every day," said Col. Chris Cruise, the commander of the 377th Test and Evaluation Group.
The missiles' reentry vehicles traveled around 4,200 miles to a U.S. ballistic missile defense test site in the Marshall Islands. There, sensors collected data to evaluate the system's performance in the final phase of flight.

SPACE SUPPLY CRUNCH — The Space Development Agency is pushing contractors to line up additional suppliers for key satellite parts amid fears of potential supply chain bottlenecks that could delay its ambitious plan to deploy a new proliferated constellation of hundreds of small satellites in low-Earth orbit.

Col. Alexander Rasmussen, head of SDA's Tracking Layer program, said the agency is in talks with major vendors about "diversifying the supplier base" after issues emerged with over-reliance on single sources for critical components like encryption systems and propulsion systems.

The agency, part of the U.S. Space Force, plans to spend around $4 billion annually on frequently launching batches of interoperable small satellites made by multiple commercial vendors. But supply chain constraints delayed the rollout of SDA's first batch of satellites, known as Tranche 0.
"We have to have pretty mature designs at kickoff, and start ordering those long-lead items really early," Rasmussen said, describing a new "different mentality" for contractors.
While preferring U.S. suppliers, SDA is now "open to new suppliers and sub-tier suppliers" to meet its proliferated LEO constellation goals, with industry watching closely as the next major Tranche 1 deliveries are set for late 2023 and early 2025.
Some insiders, however, question SDA's ability to quickly expand its vendor pool given structural issues like its continued reliance on traditional major primes and restrictions on using foreign suppliers.

FUTURE OF SATCOM — The U.S. Space Force is closely watching new commercial satellite communications services that allow standard smartphones to connect directly to satellites. Officials view this direct-to-cell technology as potentially disruptive to the military's existing narrowband satellite communications systems like MUOS (Mobile User Objective System).

"We view direct-to-cell as a really disruptive thing," said Col. Eric Felt, director of space architecture at the Air Force office overseeing space acquisitions. He says the technology could enhance or even replace dedicated systems like MUOS, which provides secure voice and data to mobile forces.
While the Space Force plans to buy new satellites from Lockheed or Boeing to modernize MUOS through the 2030s, they are eager to experiment with direct-to-cell services as a future alternative. Companies like Starlink, Iridium, Lynk Global, and AST SpaceMobile are racing to roll out these smartphone-to-satellite capabilities.
The upside? Instantly connecting troops using any smartphone to satellite communications without special equipment. But cybersecurity risks need evaluation with commercial services.

Webinar: U.S.-Japan Perspectives on Space Sustainability

In other news 🚀

The Space Rapid Capabilities Office, an organization within the U.S. Space Force tasked with fast-tracking critical space technologies, selected 20 companies for an Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) multi-year contract for the development of ground-systems software.

The estimated $1 billion IDIQ contract is for a program known as R2C2, short for Rapid Resilient Command and Control, focused on developing a next-generation ground system built on a commercial cloud architecture.

Firefly Aerospace landed a big contract from defense contractor Lockheed Martin. Under the agreement, Firefly will provide Lockheed Martin with as many as 25 dedicated launches aboard its Alpha rocket through 2029.

The deal includes 15 firm orders, as well as options for an additional 10 missions. Lockheed Martin payloads will be deployed to low-Earth orbit from Firefly's launch pads on both U.S. coasts. The first of these missions is targeted to occur later this year.

The Earth observation company Planet is about to launch its first hyperspectral satellite.

Tanager-1 has arrived at California's Vandenberg Space Force Base ahead of a SpaceX rideshare mission scheduled for July.

Will Marshall, Planet's co-founder, CEO and chair, said the 30-meter resolution satellite will augment its optical constellation by collecting data in more than 400 spectral bands to capture phenomena invisible to the human eye.

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