Spacecraft, Launch Vehicles & Satellites

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. - Twenty-one satellites built by Northrop Grumman were successfully launched and deployed for the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer (T1TL) satellite communications network. T1TL is part of the SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), a rapidly fielded constellation of satellites designed to detect and track missiles and pass data around the world with almost no lag time.

Northrop Grumman’s T1TL satellites:

· Help extend Link 16 - the secure, high-speed and jam resistant military data network - operationally to space, enabling satellites to rapidly deliver tactical data directly to the warfighter when every second counts.

· Utilize Northrop Grumman’s 7-million square feet of manufacturing floor dedicated to space programs, all equipped with advanced production systems and AI-enabled capabilities.

· Combine in-house expertise with mature commercial products from industry partners to improve manufacturing speed, affordability and resilience at scale.

T1TL will provide secure, resilient, low-latency communications and data transport in low Earth orbit to connect warfighters and PWSA missile-tracking satellites across a proliferated, interoperable space network. Northrop Grumman is also under contract to deliver more than 30 space vehicles for SDA’s global constellation of missile warning and tracking satellites that integrate with the Transport Layer, enabling conventional and advanced missile tracking. The company is combining advanced technology and deep mission experience in military satellite communications and responsive ground solutions to for this next-generation constellation in low Earth orbit.

This marks the first in a series of Northrop Grumman’s Tranche 1 launches. The second plane of 21 satellites is planned to follow, with several dozen additional satellites for the PWSA launched into LEO over the next six months. Using modern assembly lines and early investments, Northrop Grumman is building approximately 150 space vehicles for Tranches 1, 2 and 3.

Source: Northrop Grumman
Associated URL: https://news.northropgrumman.com/satellites/northrop-grumman-deploys-first-wave-of-satellites-for-sdas-proliferated-warfighter-space-architecture

HAWTHORNE, Calif. - SpaceX announced an agreement to acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum license portfolio of up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band. This prime low-band spectrum addresses one of the key remaining technical gaps that will pave the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major mobile carrier in the US.

Once we receive final FCC approval, Starlink Mobile will deploy a flexible architecture combining our satellite-to-mobile constellation in space with an advanced terrestrial deployment that can seamlessly connect devices everywhere. While Starlink Mobile’s global 2 GHz mid-band spectrum will provide high-bandwidth capacity in the United States, this new low-band spectrum will provide a coverage layer that ensures Starlink Mobile’s signal penetrates through obstacles, such as walls, and can provide service to customers’ devices even when they are in buildings. Critically, most existing mobile devices already support this underused band.

Starlink already operates the world’s most advanced broadband network from space, serving millions of customers across the United States and around the world with high-speed internet. With this new low-band spectrum and our Gen2 constellation, Starlink Mobile can now become the first network operator to deploy both satellite and terrestrial spectrum. One network that provides Americans with a reliable service indoors, outdoors, in cellular dead zones, and everywhere in between.

FCC Approves Next Gen Starlink Mobile Constellation

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also approved Starlink Mobile’s Gen2 constellation application this week, authorizing SpaceX to launch 15,000 satellites that are optimized for 2 GHz spectrum globally. The V2 Starlink Mobile satellites will deliver more than 100 times the bandwidth of our current generation, bringing high-speed service directly to unmodified devices anywhere in the world. Additionally, the FCC authorized the full range of backhaul bands (in Ka/V/E/W) used by Starlink’s V3 broadband satellites, enabling them to operate with the existing Starlink gateway network.

Source: SpaceX
Associated URL: https://www.spacex.com/updates

BREMEN, Germany - The ATHENE-1 technology demonstrator was successfully launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Developed and built by OHB LuxSpace together with the Bundeswehr University Munich, the small satellite lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 as part of the Transporter-18 mission and was successfully deployed into low Earth orbit as planned.

ATHENE-1 is the centerpiece of the SeRANIS (Seamless Radio Access Networks for Internet of Space) research program, led by the Bundeswehr University Munich and funded by the Center for Digitalization and Technology Research of the Bundeswehr (dtec.bw). The project aims to accelerate the transition of innovative technologies from research into practical applications and demonstrate their value for future space capabilities.

With the successful launch, the mission now enters its operational phase. ATHENE-1 will serve as a technology demonstration and test platform for 22 scientific experiments. The mission focuses on advanced technologies for satellite communications and connectivity, intelligence and sensing applications, navigation, and AI-enabled data processing directly in orbit.

Among other objectives, the nearly 300-kilogram ATHENE-1 satellite will test technologies for detecting, locating, and mitigating interference, helping to enhance the resilience of satellite-based navigation and communication systems. In addition, the mission will evaluate new approaches to intelligent signal and data processing as well as future applications for government and military users.

ATHENE-1 also reflects the transition toward software-defined and reconfigurable satellite systems. The technologies being demonstrated are designed to enable functions and applications to be adapted after launch, allowing satellites to respond more flexibly to evolving standards, mission requirements, and operational challenges.

The ATHENE-1 mission is based on LuxSpace’s modular Triton-X Heavy small satellite platform, combined with a multifunctional experimental payload developed by the Bundeswehr University Munich. Payload integration was carried out at OHB’s facility in Oberpfaffenhofen, while OHB Orbital Access managed the launch campaign.

The German Space Operations Center (GSOC) of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) provides the ground infrastructure required to transmit telemetry data, uplink commands, and monitor and control the satellite.

Following the successful launch, the satellite will undergo its initial operational phases and in-orbit commissioning over the coming days, before the scientific experiments are gradually activated. Planned as a multi-year mission, ATHENE-1 is expected to generate valuable insights for the next generation of satellite-based communications systems.

Source: OHB
Associated URL: https://www.ohb.de/en/news/athene-1-technology-demonstrator-successfully-launched