Although SDA planned to validate the technology’s utility in Tranche 0 of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), the agency “has not yet successfully demonstrated the full range of its laser communications technology in space using its new [optical communications terminal] standard” as of December 2024, the Government Accountability Office wrote in a new report published Wednesday. 

As a result, the watchdog is recommending that SDA complete testing of the “minimum viable product” for laser link technology before pursuing future efforts — otherwise the organization runs the risk of moving forward with the PWSA’s development without incorporating critical lessons learned.

On-orbit laser communications involves using optical communications terminals (OCTs) to transmitting data via laser links between satellites, as well as to receivers located on land, sea and in the air. The technology is considered to have several advantages over radio frequencies traditionally used by the Defense Department for communications, such as being able to send data faster and more securely.

Laser comms are central to SDA’s planned mega-constellation known as the PWSA, envisioned as hundreds of satellites stationed in low-Earth orbit that create a “mesh network” of data relay, missile warning and missile-tracking capabilities for the U.S. military. However, the agency has previously stated that proving out laser links will be a challenging technological hurdle — a fact also noted in GAO’s new report.

“[T]his technology is much more complex, and the Space Force is working with multiple vendors to develop it. Nevertheless, the number of vendors involved adds further complexity to the overall effort,” the document stated. “Among other things, the Space Force will need to ensure that different vendors’ satellite optical communications terminals (OCT), devices used to establish laser data transmission links, are able to communicate with each other.”

The watchdog noted that SDA has taken steps to prove the technology, such as developing a government OCT standard, conducting OCT laboratory tests and maturing various component capabilities. But overall, efforts to fully demonstrate space-based laser links on the agency’s experimental satellites known as Tranche 0 have not moved as quickly as expected, according to GAO. 

Delays have been largely attributed to supply chain challenges that pushed the constellation’s launch back by several months. SDA has also stalled in demonstrating laser links in orbit due to challenges in coordinating ground support and the agency’s prioritization of other technologies over laser communications, the report added.

“Specifically, as of December 2024, SDA reported that one of its four prime contractors in [Tranche 0] had demonstrated three of the eight planned laser communications capabilities while another contractor had demonstrated one of the eight capabilities,” GAO officials wrote. “The remaining two contractors have not yet achieved any planned capabilities.”

In January, York Space Systems and SpaceX announced they had successfully demonstrated a laser link connection between two of their Tranche 0 satellites. However, the GAO report emphasized that the two companies are using OCTs developed by the same subcontractor, meaning “SDA has yet to demonstrate a link between two OCT vendors in space as originally planned.”

Furthermore, the watchdog claims that the agency’s plans to launch the first operational batch of PWSA satellites — known as Tranche 1 — in the coming months without having fully demonstrated its enabling technology does not align with best practices for rapid delivery of complex tech.

Dubbed “spiral development,” SDA’s acquisition approach for the PWSA involves rapidly fielding systems through incremental “tranches” every two years, allowing for each phase to build upon previous iterations and ensuring warfighters are using the most advanced technology available.

“Our leading practices emphasize that prioritizing schedule — as SDA has done — and using an iterative development approach can support delivering products with speed to users,” the report stated. “However, our leading practices also note that speed cannot come at the cost of demonstrating critical capability.”

The watchdog noted SDA still intends to demonstrate a Tranche 0 mesh network before it launches Tranche 1 — although the agency will test only some of the capabilities it originally planned. At the same time, the report highlighted that SDA’s goal to dramatically increase both the number of PWSA satellites in orbit and the complexity of their capabilities could be compromised if the agency doesn’t have demonstrated success from previous tranches. 

“Since [Tranche 1] and [Tranche 2] are already in development, SDA may have limited opportunities to incorporate required design changes into those designs,” officials wrote. “Incorporating design changes in those tranches could potentially delay capability, meaning that laser communications capability required to support multiple DOD missions may not be available for the warfighter as planned.”

GAO said the Pentagon has concurred with the four recommendations in the report, but added that the department “believes it is already implementing our recommendations” — a position the watchdog disagreed with.

“The evidence presented throughout our draft and final report supports our view that SDA is not already taking the actions we recommend. We continue to believe SDA would benefit from taking steps aimed at implementing our recommendations,” GAO concluded.

The report’s release comes after weeks of controversy surrounding the Space Development Agency, which is currently having its semi-independent acquisition authority being reviewed by the Pentagon, according to a report from Breaking Defense. At the same time, the Department of the Air Force has placed SDA Director Derek Tournear on administrative investigative leave following a bid protest that has since prompted the agency to re-compete one of the PWSA’s contracts.

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The two satellites were stationed in low-Earth orbit as part of the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 0 — a batch of experimental systems launched in 2023 that serve to test and validate SDA’s future mega-constellation known as the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). The on-orbit demonstration involved a data transport satellite built by York and a SpaceX missile tracking platform on two separate network layers and orbital inclinations that were able to successfully close a laser comms link, according York.

“Achieving the first inter-vendor, inter-layer laser link demonstrates the tangible value of open standards and collaborative efforts in rapidly achieving an integrated space architecture,” York CEO Dirk Wallinger said in a statement. “We are proud to support SDA’s vision for an interconnected space architecture for the warfighters.”

SDA envisions the PWSA as a constellation comprising hundreds of satellites built by multiple vendors that carry critical communications, data relay, missile warning and tracking capabilities for the Defense Department.

To ensure platforms built by different vendors can pass data with each other, each of the PWSA birds carry optical inter-satellite links that meet a standardized protocol published by and required the agency. 

“Laser communication links, which enable high-speed, secure data transmission, are an enabling capability for next-generation satellite networks,” York stated in a press release. “By successfully demonstrating the first LEO-to-LEO laser communication link between satellites from different vendors, York and SDA have taken a significant step toward realizing the vision of a unified, multi-vendor satellite communications network.”

The demonstration marks another critical milestone for SDA as it prepares to launch the first operational batch of PWSA satellites, known as Tranche 1, in the coming months.

SDA Director Derek Tournear has said in the past that space-based laser communications will be a significant technical hurdle to overcome as the agency validates the PWSA concept. In September 2024, Tournear said that two Tranche 0 missile warning and missile tracking satellites built by SpaceX established laser link comms — paving the way for inter-vendor networking demonstrations.

At the same time, SDA is also planning to have the PWSA connect with other military constellations and, eventually, commercial satellites. The agency wants to use “translator satellites” that can connect its Tracking Layer space vehicles to the Space Force’s future missile warning and tracking constellation stationed in medium-Earth orbit. Additionally, SDA wants to use “hybrid” communications terminals built by commercial vendors that can connect their constellations to the PWSA.

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During a series of three demonstrations held Nov. 21-27, SDA connected three satellites equipped with Link 16 payloads to terrestrial radios stationed inside the territory of one of the United States’ Five Eyes allies, the agency announced Tuesday. Operators conducted passive and active network entry, acquired fine frequency synchronization and broadcasted several tactical messages, according to a press release.

The satellites used for the demonstration were made by York Space Systems and launched by SDA earlier this year as part of its Tranche 0 transport layer. The constellation of data relay systems is considered the demonstration tranche for SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) — a planned multi-layer configuration of hundreds of LEO satellites that will enable new and augmented capabilities for the military.

“I can’t underscore enough the significance of this technical achievement as we demonstrate the feasibility of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture and its ability to deliver space-based capabilities to the warfighter over existing tactical data links,” SDA Director Derek Tournear said in a statement.

The PWSA is considered the backbone to the Pentagon-wide effort known as Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2). The idea is to connect all of the U.S. military’s sensors and shooters under a single network, and SDA’s satellites will play a key role in enabling the rapid collection and dissemination of critical decision-making data.

Link 16 has been an integral part of realizing JADC2, as it is the only common tactical data link used across the United States’ military branches, the NATO alliance and other international allies. By deploying satellites equipped with Link 16 payloads into space, SDA aims to offer beyond-line-of-sight connectivity for warfighters.

“This is not only the first time Link 16 has been broadcast from space, but the beginning of turning the world’s finest warfighting force into a truly connected beyond line-of-sight joint force” Tournear said.

SDA began work on the tests “within 10 hours” of being cleared by the National Telecommunications Administration (NTIA) to do so, according to a press release.

In October, the agency announced it had received a waiver from NTIA via the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) — the United Nations body responsible for coordinating shared global use of the electromagnetic spectrum — to begin conducting experimental Link 16 demonstrations in international territories. 

The agency sought the waiver in order to bypass regulations from the Federal Aviation Administration that prohibits transmitting space-based Link 16 over U.S. territory in order to prevent interference with radios used for the commercial aviation industry. Tournear has acknowledged in the past that the restrictions have delayed testing some of the Tranche 0 transport layer satellites since they were launched earlier this year.

“While the U.S. military and allied partners have used Link 16 aboard aircraft for years, a fully operational PWSA will require the ability to establish bi-directional communication from space to ground,” a Space Development Agency press release stated. “Testing Link 16 from space, first with an international partner and then over international water, represents a compromise position and SDA’s requirement remains to test over U.S. airspace to demonstrate the feasibility of the PWSA and its ability to deliver fire control information to the warfighter over existing tactical data networks.”

The waiver also allows SDA to conduct future demonstrations in international territories, such as those of the Five Eyes alliance that includes the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The agency did not disclose the Five Eyes ally that was involved with this month’s demonstrations.

The successful Link 16 demo lays the groundwork for SDA’s first operational tranche of data transport satellites, known as Tranche 1. The agency plans to begin a monthly launch campaign of the birds — which includes 126 data relay satellites, 35 missile warning and missile-tracking satellites and 12 experimental satellites — at the end of 2024.

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Tournear wrote in a post published on LinkedIn on Thursday that he was recently told to no longer act as the “bad cop” for SDA or else he would hurt relationships with colleagues.

“The professional relationship I hold as my highest priority is the one between my agency and the warfighter. To deliver on my end of that relationship, we have no choice but to change,” Tournear wrote. “Change is hard; change is necessary. And nothing fights change like the paralyzing behavior of going along to get along.”

Tournear did not explicitly state the name of an individual or organization that might be criticizing him and SDA’s work. An SDA official told DefenseScoop that the post was prompted “by the everyday challenges one faces when trying to do things differently and accelerate the pace of delivery in a well-practiced bureaucracy.”

Established in 2019 and transitioned under the Space Force’s purview in 2022, the agency aims to streamline acquisitions of space capabilities in order to deploy new satellites and other tools as quickly as possible. SDA’s “spiral development” business model prioritizes rapid procurement of low-cost systems, with a goal to deliver new capabilities in multiple iterations so that warfighters have access to the latest technology and can easily pivot to new threats.

It’s a practice that is vastly different to the oft lengthy and bureaucratic processes historically used by the Defense Department to acquire new systems. Tournear noted in his post that space acquisitions have been guided by “very detailed capability – when it was ready.”

“SDA flips that paradigm to deliver what is ready on schedule—when the warfighter needs it. In this context, there have been more than a few times, when constructive disruption required someone to play the ‘bad cop,'” he wrote. 

The agency has moved relatively fast in terms of sending out solicitations, awarding contracts and deploying capabilities. Tournear highlighted in his post that while he is proud of the agency’s accomplishments, they didn’t come without challenges or “scars” caused by going against the grain of traditional acquisition practices.

Earlier this year, SDA held the first two successful launches for its constellation of satellites known as the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). The multi-layer configuration of satellites will sit in low-Earth orbit and provide critical data transport, missile warning and missile tracking capabilities for warfighters.

The first two launches were for the agency’s demonstration tranche, dubbed Tranche 0, which will consist of 27 satellites in total. The satellites were built by L3Harris, SpaceX, Lockheed Martin and York Space Systems.

The agency plans to begin launching Tranche 1, the first operational tranche of SDA satellites, in late 2024 and is targeting an aggressive monthly launch schedule. In 2022, York Space Systems, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman each received contracts worth a combined total of $1.8 billion to develop space vehicles for the Tranche 1 transport layer, while Northrop Grumman and L3Harris were tapped for a combined $1.3 billion to build satellites for Tranche 1’s missile tracking layer.

SDA has also begun soliciting and awarding contracts for Tranche 2, as well as for additional projects related to the PWSA and others completely separate from the constellation. 

Overall, Tournear and the agency have received praise for their work from high-level officials across the Defense Department. Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall highlighted Tournear’s efforts in pursuing commercially available capabilities in April during the annual Space Symposium, while Pentagon acquisition chief William LaPlante recently pointed to the agency’s effective use of alternate acquisition strategies like other transaction authority and middle tier of acquisition approaches.

“Really watch that, because that is doing everything we’ve all said — go fast, use commercial, use all the authorities you have. They’re doing it,” LaPlante said in August during a panel at the NDIA Emerging Technologies for Defense conference and expo.

Still, the agency has not had a lack of critics in its short history. Former Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson fought hard against SDA’s creation during her tenure, some lawmakers and experts have questioned whether the organization creates confusion for the Space Force’s acquisition efforts, and others are still skeptical of the Pentagon’s shift to small, commercial satellites over traditional space systems.

“Although it’s not a role I relish, I cannot stand by and watch wasteful, thoughtless procedures that will only benefit our enemies by delaying delivery to the warfighter. Calling that out won’t always make friends, but it will make our nation stronger,” Tournear wrote. “If it’s what is needed for SDA to meet its mission and deliver for the warfighter, then I will continue to be a ‘Maverick,’ a ‘wild card,’ and a ‘bad cop’. I encourage all patriots to join with me as we arrest the status quo!”

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The systems are now scheduled to be launched Saturday with a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. This will be the second launch for Tranche 0. The previous one occurred in April, which saw the first 10 satellites go into orbit.

After the launch service provider scrubbed both the original launch attempt Thursday and the rescheduled one on Friday, the next opportunity for lift off will be Saturday, according to a post from SpaceX on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Ten of the satellites from the forthcoming launch will be data transport systems made by Lockheed Martin for the Tranche 0 transport later. The remaining three — including two from SpaceX and one from York Space Systems — are for missile warning and tracking. 

Tranche 0 is made up of demonstration satellites for SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), which is envisioned as a multi-layer configuration of hundreds of satellites in low-Earth orbit that offer new and augmented data transport and missile warning and tracking capabilities for the U.S. military.

“We’re looking to show that you can build out sort of a proliferated architecture that allows you to do things like tactical data links, beyond-line-of-sight targeting, and advanced missile detection and tracking,” Mike Eppolito, Tranche 0 program director, told reporters Wednesday ahead of launch. “Those are sort of the three core things that we’re looking to demonstrate on Tranche 0.”

The PWSA is considered a key piece to the Pentagon-wide effort known as Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2). The new warfighting concept aims to connect all of the services’ sensors and shooters under a single network, and the SDA’s satellites are intended to enable rapid collection and transfer of critical decision-making data.

Overall, Tranche 0 will include 27 satellites on orbit. Of those, 19 systems will be in the transport layer carrying optical communications terminals, and seven will also have the Link 16 tactical data link — a capability that will be demonstrated from space for the first time, Eppolito said.

The remaining eight missile warning and tracking satellites have wide-field-of-view sensors on them that will be able to spot missiles and keep tabs on them across a wide area, he added.

SDA originally planned for 28 spacecraft on orbit, but decided to keep one tracking satellite made by York Space Systems on the ground to serve as a testbed for future capabilities, Eppolito said. 

“We understand that software development and the applications that run on board are going to be a critical enabling element for PWSA. So, we believe that having that testbed on the ground will pay off for both the current tranche in terms of demonstrating things before we update the [space vehicles] on orbit,” he said. “It will also be used for future tranches in terms of learning on that satellite, which could then be applied to future tranches.”

While Tranche 0 was initially scheduled to just have two launches, SDA is now targeting a third launch in partnership with the Missile Defense Agency for the last set of four missile warning and tracking satellites made by L3Harris. A firm date has not been set, but the agency is looking to get the payloads on orbit before the end of 2023, Eppolito said.

The MDA is launching its own missile warning and tracking satellite made by L3Harris as part of the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor Program this year. Eppolito said there are advantages in launching and testing together because the payloads for MDA and SDA have different capabilities that can be used tangentially.

“The benefit of that will be that we’ll be able to see the same targets from both the MDA satellites and SDA satellites, demonstrating both the medium field-of-view and wide field-of-view tracking payloads all together on the same target,” he said.

The first 10 Tranche 0 systems already on orbit — which include eight data transport platforms manufactured by York Space Systems and two missile tracking platforms by SpaceX — have made it through checkout, but some are still working out kinks, Eppolito said. The tracking satellites have sent the first images collected from the payloads to ground stations, but the agency has run into some “policy issues” that are preventing them from conducting Link 16 tests, he said.

“From a technical standpoint, we’ve gotten through all the checkout leading up until that policy hurdle,” he said. “As soon as we get approval there, we plan to move forward with that checkout.”

Once all of Tranche 0 is in orbit and the concept proved, SDA plans to begin launching satellites that carry operational capabilities. The first Tranche 1 payloads are slated to fly in September 2024, and the agency hopes to stay on an aggressive launch schedule afterwards.

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The moves comes less than 24 hours after SpaceX called off the launch that was slated for Thursday.

“SpaceX will not make an attempt for SDA’s Tranche 0 launch today (3/31), as previously scheduled. They are working quickly to resolve issues discovered during yesterday’s launch attempt. We will provide add’l updates as soon as possible,” the agency said in a tweet Friday.

Ten satellites were scheduled to fly aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 reusable rocket deployed from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. On Thursday, just three seconds before lift off, the mission was auto-aborted, according to a tweet from SpaceX. No immediate reason was given for the move and the launch was rescheduled for Friday morning.

“Vehicle and payload are in good health; teams are resetting for a launch attempt tomorrow, March 31 at 7:29 a.m. PT,” the company tweeted.

However, in a Friday tweet, SpaceX said they were standing down again in order to allow more time for vehicle preparations. The company is now targeting “no earlier than April 1 for the next liftoff attempt.”

The Space Development Agency and SpaceX did not immediately respond to DefenseScoop’s request for comment.

The stand-down marks yet another delay for the launch of the first batch of Tranche 0 satellites that are intended to be a part of the SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). The architecture is envisioned to have hundreds of satellites in low-Earth orbit carrying critical warfighting capabilities — including satellite communications and missile warning and missile tracking technologies — and is an important component of the Pentagon’s modernization plans.

Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told DefenseScoop during a press briefing Thursday that the Defense Department would continue to keep an eye on the status of the launch.

“Just to provide some perspective, it’s not uncommon for space launches to go through a checklist before launch to make sure that there’s no anomalies, given the expense of the payloads and safety and security,” he said.

The launch slated for Thursday — and then rescheduled for Friday — would have been the first of two missions to get Tranche 0 satellites on orbit — a major milestone after SDA experienced previous delays getting to liftoff. The two launches for Tranche 0 spacecraft were initially scheduled for September 2022 and March 2023, but the agency was forced to push them back to March 2023 and June 2023, respectively, due to supply chain issues and other problems.

Overall, Tranche 0 will include 28 satellites made by York Space Systems, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX and L3Harris.

SpaceX received a $150 million contract from the Space Development Agency for the two Tranche 0 launches. While using a commercial launch provider gave the agency some cost savings for Tranche 0, SDA plans to use the Space Force’s national security launch contracting vehicle for subsequent Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 launches, SDA Director Derek Tournear told reporters Wednesday prior to the launch scheduled for this week.

“Obviously, that gave us some cost savings on Tranche 0,” he said. “But going forward, that’s something that the Space Force is working hard to negotiate in their future [national security space launch] phases to incorporate cost savings in different ways to get new entrants into the launch marketplace.”

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Ten satellites were scheduled to fly aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 reusable rocket deployed from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The systems are to be part of the SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), envisioned as a multi-layer proliferation of satellites in low-Earth orbit carrying critical warfighting capabilities.

But at T-0:03 before launch, operators aborted the mission. No immediate reason was given for the move. The Space Development Agency and SpaceX did not immediately respond to DefenseScoop’s request for comment. 

SpaceX said in a tweet: “Falcon 9 had an auto abort just prior to T-0. Vehicle and payload are in good health; teams are resetting for a launch attempt tomorrow, March 31 at 7:29 a.m. PT.”

Overall, Tranche 0 will include 28 satellites made by York Space Systems, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX and L3Harris that will be launched in two batches. The two launches for Tranche 0 were initially scheduled for September 2022 and March 2023, but SDA was forced to push them back to March 2023 and June 2023, respectively, due to supply chain issues and other problems.

The first Tranche 0 launch was set to be a major first step for the Space Development Agency’s goal for a proliferated satellite architecture featuring hundreds of platforms and sensors. Once in full operation later this decade, the architecture will help warfighters track missiles and hypersonic vehicles, provide position, navigation and timing in GPS-denied environments, and improve communications.

The Space Development Agency tapped SpaceX to launch the Tranche 0 satellites in December 2020. The company received a $150 million contract for two launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base aboard a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, according to an SDA press release.

The U.S. government has used SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to launch a number of national security and defense payloads in the past. Speaking to reporters Wednesday the day before the aborted launch, SDA Director Derek Tournear said the reason the agency procured the launch commercially was for affordability.

“Obviously, that gave us some cost savings on Tranche 0,” he said. “But going forward, that’s something that the Space Force is working hard to negotiate in their future [national security space launch] phases to incorporate cost savings in different ways to get new entrants into the launch marketplace.”

Following Tranche 0, the SDA plans to continue forward with its plans to begin Tranche 1 — the agency’s first mission-capable constellation consisting of 128 satellites in the transport layer, 28 in the tracking layer and an additional 18 experimental satellites. 

Those launches, as well as the follow-on Tranche 2, will be procured using the Space Force’s national space security launch contract. 

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“This is the first dedicated SDA launch. All of the satellites on the rocket tomorrow will be SDA satellites, and it’s the first launch of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture,” SDA Director Derek Tournear told reporters Wednesday.

Ten satellites will be launched from a SpaceX Falcon 9 reusable rocket Thursday at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, according to the SDA. Eight of those satellites are made by York Space Systems and will contribute to the Tranche 0 data transport layer. The two remaining satellites are from SpaceX and will be part of the agency’s Tranche 0 missile tracking layer.

The launch will help field the first capabilities in the SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), which is envisioned as a multi-layer configuration featuring hundreds of satellites and sensors. The agency plans to deploy new tranches of satellites proliferated in low-Earth orbit every two years that can incorporate new payloads with additional capabilities. 

In 2020, the agency awarded Lockheed Martin and York Space Systems contracts — worth $187.5 million and $94 million, respectively —  to each build a set of 10 satellites for the Tranche 0 transport layer. That same year, SDA awarded SpaceX $149 million and L3Harris $194 million to build four additional satellites each that would detect ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles in the Tranche 0 tracking layer.

Overall, Tranche 0 will include 28 satellites. Of those, 20 satellites will be in the transport layer that form a mesh satellite communications network and provide low-latency comms for warfighters, Tournear said. The other eight satellites will contribute to the tracking layer and perform advanced missile warning and missile tracking, he added.

The remaining 18 space vehicles in Tranche 0 will be launched in June, including two more satellites from York Space Systems, 10 from Lockheed Martin, two from SpaceX and four from L3Harris, according to the SDA. 

The two launches for Tranche 0 were initially scheduled for September 2022 and March 2023, but SDA was forced to push back the launches due to supply chain issues, Tournear said. 

The agency refers to Tranche 0 as its warfighter immersion tranche that will host demonstrations and help operators start understanding how to best use space-based capabilities in the future, said Mike Eppolito, program director for Tranche 0 at SDA. 

“We are demonstrating the core architecture that will evolve in future tranches,” Eppolito told reporters Wednesday. “The satellites that we have up there, the intent there is to get them in the warfighters hands so they can start developing their techniques and be able to use them, to give them a timeline to go through their training and to allow them to start thinking about how they would use the larger constellation once we have it on orbit.”

Demonstrations for Tranche 0 will begin once all 28 satellites are on orbit and have gone through a period of calibration.

“It will take single-digit weeks to get through tests and checkout of the satellites’ initialization and the initial calibration, and that’s when we can start to actually do the warfighter versions or participate in exercises and things like that,” Tournear said.

For the transport layer, warfighters will initially participate in a number of “lower-level exercises,” Tournear said. Most of those will involve testing how to connect space systems with terrestrial Link 16 radios for SATCOM — a brand new capability for the Pentagon — and then eventually they will begin participating in other exercises in the Indo-Pacific with the Marine Corps, he said.

As for the tracking layer satellites, test events featuring live U.S. missile systems, including hypersonic weapons, will begin in spring 2024, Tournear said.

Following Tranche 0, the SDA plans to continue forward with its plans to begin Tranche 1 — the agency’s first mission-capable constellation consisting of 128 satellites in the transport layer, 28 in the tracking layer and an additional 18 experimental satellites.

When asked by DefenseScoop about the schedule for Tranche 1, Tournear said the agency is still on track to begin launches in September 2024 and contractors are currently going through their critical design reviews.

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