05/12/2026

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Space Force triples spending on next-gen surveillance satellites

The Space Force is sharply increasing the value of a next-generation satellite procurement aimed at monitoring activity in geostationary orbit.

The service has raised the ceiling for its Andromeda contracting vehicle from roughly $1.8 billion to $6.2 billion, tripling the scale of a program that is designed to buy satellites and related technologies for space domain awareness missions. The Andromeda program focuses on technologies for keeping watch of geosynchronous orbit, roughly 22,000 miles above Earth, where many of the Pentagon’s critical satellites operate.

The increase marks one of the clearest signs yet that military planners expect orbital surveillance to become a much larger priority heading into the next decade.

Unlike traditional military satellite programs that award a single prime contractor, Andromeda is structured as a 10-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract run by the Space Systems Command. The framework establishes a pool of vendors that compete for task orders, allowing the Space Force to introduce new suppliers and technologies.

The first task orders are expected to support RG-XX, a program intended to replace the current Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) constellation. GSSAP satellites maneuver near spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit to inspect them and monitor unusual activity.

The newly added $4.4 billion is tied to SG-XX, or Space-Based Surveillance Mission, a proliferated surveillance constellation expected to succeed the classified Silent Barker system operated with the National Reconnaissance Office.

According to fiscal 2027 budget documents, SG-XX will use a “flexible acquisition contract” to integrate commercially available systems and emerging prototypes while onboarding vendors and allied partners where possible.

Moving to proliferated constellations

Officials have linked the expansion directly to concerns about the future security environment in orbit with increased activity by Chinese and Russian satellites, including more sophisticated maneuvering and proximity operations that could interfere with U.S. satellites. The Space Force has argued these trends will require a larger and more persistent surveillance architecture by the 2030s.

The Andromeda procurement model is also reshaping the private market as it's creating a more credible path for venture-backed firms to secure military contracts in a sector historically dominated by incumbents such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.

Among the 14 companies selected for the initial Andromeda vendor pool are newer entrants including True Anomaly, Astranis, Quantum Space and Turion Space. Space Systems Command leaders said additional on-ramping opportunities will be reviewed annually.

Investor activity has mirrored that procurement momentum. True Anomaly last month announced a $650 million funding round valuing the company at $2.2 billion. Astranis recently raised $450 million in equity and debt at a $2.8 billion valuation. Quantum Space, another Andromeda participant, recently hired former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine as chief executive.

Skepticism grows on defense reconciliation plan

The Trump administration’s plan to route $350 billion of its proposed $1.45 trillion fiscal 2027 defense budget through congressional reconciliation is running into growing skepticism on Capitol Hill.

The strategy would allow Republicans to move defense spending with a simple Senate majority, bypassing the 60-vote threshold that normally governs annual appropriations bills. The administration used the same tactic last year to secure roughly $150 billion in additional defense funding outside discretionary caps.

The 2027 proposal ties large portions of the Pentagon’s modernization agenda to reconciliation funding.

That plan includes about $12 billion in the Space Force’s proposed $71.4 billion budget, as well as most of the funding sought for the administration’s Golden Dome missile defense initiative.

Golden Dome, a planned layered missile defense architecture designed to use space-based sensors and interceptors, is particularly exposed. Of the program’s $17.5 billion fiscal 2027 request, $17.1 billion sits in the mandatory reconciliation package rather than the base budget.

Mike Tierney, legislative director of the National Security Space Association, said the mood on Capitol Hill has shifted noticeably over the past year.

“The general sentiment is that the political appetite to do another reconciliation is declining, and it's not where it was this time last year,” Tierney told an NSSA gathering last week.

In his assessment, “it's less than 50% likely that we get a 350 billion reconciliation bill.” If Republicans manage to pass it, he added, “It would have to occur, obviously, before November.”

Lawmakers in both parties are signaling discomfort with using reconciliation to fund major defense programs, arguing the approach risks eroding Congress’s traditional control over appropriations.

Some on Capitol Hill also worry that normalizing reconciliation for defense could permanently weaken the annual appropriations process and encourage future administrations to bypass traditional budget negotiations.

“Even Republican senators and members are saying, ‘maybe we need to return to regular order,’” Tierney said.

The administration argues the approach is necessary to accelerate military modernization, missile defense and industrial base expansion amid growing competition with China and Russia.

Pentagon space programs at risk

Without reconciliation, funding would be at risk for the Space Force’s planned Space Data Network mesh backbone, proliferated satellite communications systems and satellites intended to track airborne targets.

Even without reconciliation, however, the Space Force would still see a substantial increase. The service received $31.6 billion in fiscal 2026 and would retain nearly $60 billion in discretionary funding under the 2027 request even if reconciliation funding falls away.

“That forestalls the impact of any future reconciliation not happening,” Tierney said.

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Golden Dome spurs wave of space interceptor partnerships

The race to build space-based missile interceptors for the Pentagon’s Golden Dome initiative is beginning to reshape alliances across the defense and commercial space sectors, with companies lining up partners and committing internal capital.

Rocket Lab announced last week it is working with Raytheon to demonstrate technologies for the Space Force’s interceptor program.

Raytheon is one of 12 companies selected by the Space Force to develop interceptors deployed in orbit that could destroy missiles during flight.

During Rocket Lab’s recent earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Adam Spice described the program as “a very large opportunity,” while cautioning that companies still face technical and procurement hurdles before moving into production phases.

“This is kind of an interesting procurement process for the government where companies like ourselves and Raytheon and others that are in the mix have to put some of their own skin in the game to unlock a potentially very large opportunity in the back end,” Spice said. “We think we’re in a good spot.”

The Space Force is pursuing the interceptor effort through Other Transaction agreements, a contracting approach intended to accelerate prototyping while lowering the government’s upfront costs and keeping multiple vendors in competition.

Anduril, another of the 12 selected companies, assembled a team of commercial space firms and a government research lab to support its interceptor bid. The company named Impulse Space, Inversion Space, K2 Space, Sandia National Laboratories and Voyager Technologies as subcontractors.

Impulse Space specializes in in-space propulsion and maneuvering systems. Inversion Space is developing orbital reentry vehicles. K2 Space builds high-power satellite buses that could host interceptor payloads. Sandia contributes weapons-development expertise, while Voyager brings a broader portfolio of missile defense and national security systems.

Space-based interceptors are among the most ambitious and controversial elements of Golden Dome. The concept centers on deploying interceptors in orbit capable of striking enemy missiles during the boost phase, before warheads or countermeasures can be deployed.

Gen. Michael Guetlein, who leads Golden Dome, has repeatedly warned that affordability will determine whether the Pentagon ultimately fields the capability at scale. Ground and ship-based interceptors today cost millions of dollars apiece, while the weapons they are designed to defeat are usually far cheaper, creating what officials describe as an unfavorable “cost per kill” equation.

Guetlein has said the Pentagon aims to demonstrate an initial layered missile defense capability by the summer of 2028.

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