Photo by SpaceX on Pexels.com
SpaceX got a contract worth $150 million from the Space Development Agency (SDA), entrusting the company with building a modern ship for the US Army that is competent in following and giving early notice of hypersonic missile launches. The satellites are implied to be the primary vital portion of the SDA’s Following Layer Tranche 0, which is outlined to supply rocket following for the Defense Division from space utilizing infrared sensors. SpaceX and L3Harris will together construct eight satellites to provide the DOD with the Following Layer — the primary satellites in an arranged star grouping.
The SDA needs these eight satellites transported and launched by the conclusion of 2022. Alongside the satellites from SpaceX and L3Harris, the organization plans to dispatch up to 20 satellites from the Transport Layer at that time, as well as up to two extra satellites that are being developed by the Missile Defense Agency. And that’s just the first group; the SDA plans to put up more satellites within the Following Layer once these first eight go up, according to Space News.
This is the first time SpaceX has been allowed a DOD award to construct satellites. The company is rapidly developing its satellite flight with its Starlink constellation—a proposed group of about 12,000 satellites aiming to pillar broadband web networks down to clients on Earth. Space News reports that to win this SDA grant, SpaceX offered an obsequious concept based on its Starlink plan.