How This Mental Health Startup's Mission Helped Generate Millions in Sales
The Honey Pot Eyes Ambitious Growth Following $380 Million Acquisition
How to Lead a Successful Cause Marketing Campaign
FedEx Just Announced Its Own Commerce Platform for Retailers, Making Competition for Amazon
Why These Companies Work Only With Purpose-Driven Clients--and How They Do It
How to Get a Piece of the $14 Billion National Green Bank
Lawmakers Unveil Bipartisan Deal to Reaffirm Tax Breaks for Businesses and Expand Child Tax Credits
Startup companies are breaching the final frontier with increasing regularity, as the Pentagon's space procurement branch again selected a smaller aerospace business to partner with legacy manufacturers in a $2.5 billion deal to build 54 new missile tracking and defense satellites.
TechCrunch reported that Sierra Space will join Lockheed Martin and L3Harris in furnishing the satellites to the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, the U.S. Space Force's array of satellites to detect and track missiles. The Space Development Agency (SDA) project is divided among the three companies, each of which will provide 18 satellites for the system's "Tranche 2 Tracking Layer." Sierra Space's share of the project is valued at $740 million, Lockheed Martin's $890 million, and 3Harris's award is worth $919 million.
Sierra Space, headquartered in Louisville, Colorado, has carved out a solid presence in the aerospace market. Its website says Sierra and affiliated companies have supplied more than 4,000 "space systems, subsystems, and components to customers worldwide," which have been used in about 500 space missions, including flights to Mars.
This represents an expansion of Sierra Space's capabilities. While Lockheed Martin and L3Harris have built satellites at scale, Sierra is better known for its Dream Chaser spaceplane and Orbital Reef private space station project.
The satellites are slated to launch no later than April 2027, TechCrunch reported.
The contract reflects a meaningful shift by the Defense Department, which is looking further afield than its traditional defense prime contractors as it assesses the military preparedness of the united States in Space.
Derek Tournear, director of the Space Development Agency, the Space Force's unit for deploying disruptive technology, said in a statement: "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."
The agency's website said it started soliciting proposals for the satellite defense system outside of major contractors in November 2023.
"The SDA views small businesses as critical contributors to the performance of research and development supporting national security through space and is soliciting small business participation in the advancement of the Proliferated Warfare Space Architecture," the agency said.
Sign up for our weekly roundup on the latest in tech
Privacy Policy
Startups Are Making Strides in the Ultimate Growth Industry: Space
29
1
18.01.2024
How This Mental Health Startup's Mission Helped Generate Millions in Sales
The Honey Pot Eyes Ambitious Growth Following $380 Million Acquisition
How to Lead a Successful Cause Marketing Campaign
FedEx Just Announced Its Own Commerce Platform for Retailers, Making Competition for Amazon
Why These Companies Work Only With Purpose-Driven Clients--and How They Do It
How to Get a Piece of the $14 Billion National Green Bank
Lawmakers Unveil Bipartisan Deal to Reaffirm Tax Breaks for Businesses and Expand Child Tax Credits
Startup companies are breaching the final frontier with increasing regularity, as the Pentagon's space procurement branch again selected a smaller aerospace........
© Inc.com
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Tarik Cyril Amar
Rami G Khouri
Mort Laitner
Bradley Blankenship
