Second Lot of Military Communication Satellites Ships for Summer Launch
York Space Systems Completes Back-to-Back Production Runs, Claims Half the Cost of Competitors
More than 20 tactical communication satellites built by York Space Systems for the U.S. military shipped to their launch site this week, bound for a dedicated Falcon 9 flight planned for this summer.
“Shipping a second production lot for this important tactical communications mission demonstrates the repeatability and maturity of York’s production model.”
Melanie Preisser, York Space Systems
The spacecraft are part of the Tranche 1 Transport Layer, a segment of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture — the Pentagon’s effort to field a resilient, distributed space-based communications network for U.S. and allied forces. York Space Systems, based in Denver, built the satellites and says this second production lot marks its second consecutive on-time completion for the program.
York says it was the first of the Tranche 1 contractors to ship and launch spacecraft in the initial production run. All satellites from that first lot were confirmed healthy within hours of separation. The company now says it is again first among the Tranche 1 prime contractors to complete production for a second lot.
Combined, the two production lots represent more than 40 spacecraft delivered under the program.
Melanie Preisser, VP and General Manager of York, said the milestone reflects the company’s production model. “Shipping a second production lot for this important tactical communications mission demonstrates the repeatability and maturity of York’s production model,” Preisser said. “We have shown that operational national security space capabilities can be built and fielded rapidly, affordably, and at the scale that the USG demands. Most importantly, these spacecraft will provide operational capability to the warfighter, supporting the enduring need for resilient tactical communications and infrastructure needed for modern military operations.”
York also said it completed the work at half the cost of competing contractors on the program, though no independent verification of that figure was provided in the announcement. The company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker YSS.
Once in orbit, the satellites will form part of the secure communications backbone that U.S. and allied forces use to coordinate operations across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains.
The Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture is a Space Development Agency program designed to replace legacy satellite communications systems with a large constellation of smaller, lower-cost spacecraft in low Earth orbit. Tranche 1 represents the first operational deployment of that constellation.
The launch, planned for this summer aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, will carry the complete second production lot as a dedicated payload. With both lots delivered, York will have placed more than 40 Tranche 1 spacecraft on orbit.