US Space Force / Space Development Agency (SDA)
US Space Force is the 6th military branch, responsible for space operations. The Space Development Agency (SDA) is building the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) — a mesh of hundreds of optically-linked LEO satellites for missile tracking, data transport, and navigation. Tranche 3 Tracking Layer ($3.5B) awarded Dec 2025 to L3Harris, Lockheed, Northrop, and Rocket Lab (18 sats each).
Budget
$26.3B Space Force FY2026 request (+$13.8B reconciliation = ~40% increase). SDA: $648M FY2026 for 7 launches.
Timeline
2019–ongoing
Key Milestones
Space Force established as 6th military branch
2020
SDA Tranche 0 — first 28 PWSA transport/tracking sats launched
2023
SDA Tranche 1 — 100+ satellites deploying for missile tracking
2024
Tranche 3 Tracking Layer — $3.5B awarded: L3Harris $843M, LMT $1.1B, NOC $764M, RKLB $805M (18 sats each)
2025 — Dec
Tranche 2 full deployment — operational missile-warning mesh
2026
Tranche 3 — 72 tracking sats expected to launch
2029
Contractors
Sources
- sda.mil
- spacenews.com
- breakingdefense.com
- airandspaceforces.com