The Space Development Agency has created a pool of non-traditional defense space vendors to compete for experimental and demonstration satellite contracts in low-Earth orbit, director Derek M. Tournear announced Oct. 23.
The Hybrid Acquisition for Proliferated Low Earth Orbit, or HALO, pool includes 19 companies under an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract that pre-clears all participants to compete for individual awards.
HALO prototype solicitations will seek two identical satellites able to launch 12-18 months after contract award in each round, SDA said in a release.
SDA, now part of the Space Force, has primarily focused on developing the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, a large constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites for data communications and missile warning and tracking. But the agency also has dabbled in experimental efforts, including:
- 12 satellites for its Tranche 1 Demonstration and Experimentation System (T1DES) to test out new satellite communications technologies;
- 10 satellites for its NExT program, meant for “beyond-line-of-sight command and control” and incorporating partner payloads;
- 8 satellites for its FOO Fighter program, carrying experimental fire control payloads.
HALO provides a pool of vendors to compete for such programs.
First up is the Tranche 2 Demonstration and Experimentation Systems (T2DES) program, the successor to T1DES.
“Through HALO, SDA has an even faster and more flexible contracting mechanism in place to compete and award T2DES and other SDA demonstration projects,” Tournear said in a statement. “We believe HALO will also increase the pool of performers capable of bidding on future SDA programs, including participation in layers of future tranches.”
Back in October 2022, Tournear suggested that T2DES could be focused on “translator” satellites that can pull data from non-SDA satellites and feed it into the network. In mid-2023, the agency solicited industry feedback on the program. Since then, however, officials have offered few updates.
Of the 19 vendors in HALO, a few have been selected for SDA contracts in the past, such as SpaceX, Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, and York Space Systems. Others, like Firefly Aerospace and Impulse Space, have worked with the Space Force in some capacity before. The full list:
- Airbus U.S. Space & Defense
- Apex Technology
- AST Space Mobile USA
- Astro Digital
- Capella Space
- CesiumAstro
- Firefly Aerospace
- Geneva Technologies
- Impulse Space
- Kepler Communications
- Kuiper Government Solutions
- LeoStella
- Momentus Space
- Muon Space
- NovaWurks
- SpaceX
- Turion Space
- Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems
- York Space Systems