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WASHINGTON — Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) has secured a $55 million contract from the Space Development Agency to serve as program integrator for SDA’s low Earth orbit satellite constellation, the Defense Department announced April 22.
The five-year contract positions SAIC, headquartered in Reston, Virginia, to lead system engineering and integration support for Tranche 3 of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), a constellation designed to enhance the U.S. military’s ability to detect and counter missile threats.
By introducing a program integrator role, SDA aims to ensure better compatibility among satellites and cohesion across the network, both in space and on the ground.
The contract was awarded following a competitive acquisition process that drew five offers. SAIC will provide “system engineering and integration support activities enabling the delivery of the Tranche 3 space vehicles for transport, tracking, and custody layers and their integration within the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture ground segment,” said the announcement.
SDA decided to hire a dedicated integrator after facing challenges in testing and operating satellites from different manufacturers in previous tranches. Officials noted that one of the lessons learned from Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 satellite procurements is that integration needs to happen from the beginning, prompting the agency to bring in an integrator for Tranche 3.
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Tranche 3 is expected to include approximately 140 satellites for the Transport Layer, which provides low-latency communication, and 54 satellites for the Tracking Layer, designed to detect and track advanced threats such as hypersonic missiles.