The Space Development Agency (SDA) will launch a solicitation for a new set of 150 satellites in August 2021, for a network of communications satellites planned to begin launching three years from now, Space News reported Wednesday.
SDA is looking to award three individual contracts for a total of 150 communications satellites but may change this procurement approach depending on the solicitation's results. These satellites would compose Transport Layer Tranche 1, which would consist of hundreds of low-Earth orbit satellites. The satellites would operate across six planes.
Derek Tournear, SDA director and a 2021 Wash100 Award recipient, said at the Washington Space Business Roundtable that the agency may change its procurement plan based on factors such as pricing.
SDA will start launching the satellites in late 2024 from Redstone Arsenal in Alabama and Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota.
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