Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP) has reported the successful deployment of 10 smallsats that incorporate the firm’s buses to LEO, following a September 2, 2023, launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
These 10 satellites are part of the Tranche 0 Transport Layer of the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). Terran Orbital manufactured the buses for Lockheed Martin for payload integration and delivery to SDA.
Currently, Terran Orbital is producing 42 satellite buses for Lockheed Martin, which will deliver 42 Tranche 1 Transport Layer satellites for SDA. These 42 satellites are scheduled to launch in 2024.
These satellites will have various capabilities, including optical communications links, Link-16 mission communications, a Ka-band RF communications payload, and a BMC3 module that enables on-orbit data processing. These features will support missions for global warfighters.
“It is a great honor to contribute to this important mission by delivering our 10 satellite buses to Lockheed Martin. We are thankful to Lockheed Martin for their collaboration and the opportunity to leverage our small satellite solution expertise and to support their missions.” — Marc Bell, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Terran Orbital.