Lockheed Martin announced last week that the Lockheed-Northrop Grumman team working on the Transformational Satellite Communications System had “achieved a key design milestone … that will dramatically increase data transfer speeds.” The Air Force recently released a draft version of a restructured TSAT program that would defer more advanced capabilities, but a senior acquisition official said the service remains committed to the program. Lockheed and Boeing have been competing during a TSAT risk reduction phase, but Air Force deputy undersecretary for space, Gary Payton, said other companies may also bid under the restructured program. The Lockheed-Northrop team has “matured” its SpaceWire databus technology, such that it can “transfer electronic data at least 80 times faster than current databus technology,” said Mark Pasquale, Lockheed’s TSAT vice president. He said it’s a “highly reliable and robust distributed architecture routing system,” making it the “ideal solution” for TSAT, which must move large amounts of data around the spacecraft.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.