Peraton announced on Thursday that two Space Development Agency (SDA) prototype satellites were successfully placed in orbit due to the company’s work to secure rideshare space on the SpaceX Transporter-2 mission and performance of launch integration activities.
"We are privileged to help SDA accelerate the development and fielding of new capabilities necessary to ensure our technological and military advantage in space for national defense," commented Roger Mason, Peraton Space & Intelligence Sector president.
"When asked to fill a gap for SDA and quickly acquire commercial launch services, we secured the rideshare and took full responsibility for the launch integration activities. These LINCS experiments will provide data to advance the national defense space architecture,” added Mason, a previous Wash100 Award recipient.
The Transporter-2 mission, launched by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, exited the atmosphere on June 30th with two SDA 12U Laser Interconnect & Communications System (LINCS) satellites.
Peraton was required to support the SDA in this mission because of its Mission Systems Engineering and Integration (MSE&I) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract. This contract calls for Peraton to assist in filling gaps where SDA lacks necessary in-agency capabilities.
In the Transporter-2 mission, Peraton identified rideshare opportunities, procured the rideshare slot on Transporter-2 and provided integration services to deliver the LINCS satellites into orbit. The work included mission management, interface definition and production, spacecraft-to-launch vehicle integration at the launch site and flight safety certification.
The SDA MSE&I contract also requires Peraton to supply full-lifecycle systems engineering and integration services to support development, fielding and operations for SDA's Tranche 0 system. Tranche 0 is a constellation of 28 spacecraft, ground segments, mission planning and command and control capabilities designed to advance warfighter mission scenarios and critical experiments.
