A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has launched 21 Lockheed Martin-built satellites into low Earth orbit, marking the second deployment for the Space Development Agency’s Transport Layer, a mesh network designed to expand U.S. military forces’ communications link worldwide.
The launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, delivered the second batch of satellites under Tranche 1 of the U.S. Space Force’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, a network of small, interconnected spacecraft that will provide secure, global data transport and sensor coverage, SpaceNews reported Wednesday.
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Lockheed’s Tranche 1 Stakes
Lockheed Martin, awarded a $700 million contract in 2022, is producing 42 Transport Layer satellites for Tranche 1 using spacecraft buses from its subsidiary Terran Orbital. Lockheed also earlier secured a $187.5 million Tranche 0 contract for a mesh network of 10 small satellites .
The company is responsible for two of the six Transport Layer satellite batches, alongside York Space Systems and Northrop Grumman.
Indo-Pacific Forces as First Users
Equipped with optical inter-satellite links, the Lockheed satellites are meant to extend the reach of the military’s Link 16 tactical network, enabling secure, real-time communications well beyond line of sight. The first operational users will be U.S. Indo-Pacific Command forces, which require persistent connectivity across the region.
The SDA has 10 Tranche 1 launches planned in 2026 — six for the Transport Layer and four for the Tracking Layer — as it builds a global constellation of 154 satellites to enhance battlefield data-sharing and missile tracking.
The agency launched the first PWSA Tranche 1 Transport Layer space vehicles in September, deploying into low Earth orbit 21 data transport satellites built by York Space Systems.
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