The company, Sierra Space, has secured a contract to construct 18 satellites intended for missile warning and tracking. Under the agreement, Sierra Space will design, produce, and deliver 16 missile warning and tracking satellites along with two additional satellites specifically built for missile defense and fire control.
These satellites form part of the Tranche 2 Tracking Layer of the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) proliferated space warfighting architecture. This architecture is an integral component of the Defense Department's Low Earth Orbit constellation. The new additions by Sierra Space are set to enhance SDA’s ability to track both conventional and advanced missile threats globally. According to a news release on January 16, the solution contracted to Sierra Space also incorporates fire control quality sensors into the constellation; it will generate fire control quality tracks that enable missile defense kill chains - a crucial defense capability - for the warfighter.
Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice stated, "Under the $740 million SDA contract, Sierra Space will deliver an 18-satellite constellation for missile detection and warning with fire control quality tracks. Given the strength of our experienced mission-driven team, disruptive innovative technologies, employment of differentiated commercial practices, significant investments in systems and infrastructure, and the ability to execute with reliable performance and on-time delivery of warfighting capabilities to orbit, we have secured approximately $1.3 billion in next generation space-based national security programs."
Operating under three verticals: space transportation, space destinations, and space applications; Sierra Space along with its affiliated companies has created thousands of space systems, components and subsystems for more than 500 space missions over three decades as per information from their website. The company operates five facilities for space manufacturing and mission operations across five states including Texas, Florida, Colorado, Wisconsin and North Carolina.
In relation to contract awards for the Tranche 2 project, Derek Tournear who is the Director at SDA said about Sierra Space’s award: "We’re pleased to welcome Sierra Space, a new entrant as a prime vendor on Team SDA, as we continue working with L3Harris and Lockheed Martin on Tranche 2. The marketplace is responding to the demand signals for our spiral development model. The agile response across the space industry is critically important as we deliver to the warfighter this no-fail mission capability of missile warning, missile tracking, and missile defense."