“This is the first time we’ll be able to start working with our [combatant commanders] and our joint force to start integrating space into their operations and getting warfighters used to using space from this construct,” Acting SDA Director Gurpartap Sandhoo told reporters.
After more than six years at SDA’s helm, Tournear is departing to pursue a “new opportunity,” according to the agency.
During the on-orbit mission, dubbed OTV-8, the Boeing-made spacecraft will conduct a wide range of tests and experiments focused on laser communication tech and quantum inertial sensors, according to the Space Force.
Developed under SDA’s Tranche 1 Demonstration and Experimentation System (T1DES) program, the platform will test tactical satellite communication capabilities on orbit.
The $1.2 billion contract is for Epoch 2 of the Space Force’s Resilient Missile Warning and Missile Tracking program.
Troy Meink also told lawmakers that the Department of the Air Force must move faster on innovating new technologies.
The agency now expects to launch the first satellites in Tranche 1 of the PWSA later this summer.
On-orbit laser communications are a critical enabling technology for the Space Development Agency’s planned mega-constellation known as the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.
The technical integrated planning team is currently analyzing technological maturity, cost estimates and capability gaps of space systems that could be part of the architecture, according to a senior Space Force official.
The Space Development Agency is interested in custody layer, HBTSS and other capabilities for the planned missile defense architecture.
