Space Force Awards Contract for Space-to-Space Communications System
Voyager Technologies to Develop Flight-Ready Waveform, Conduct On-Orbit Demonstration
The U.S. Space Force has awarded a contract to develop communication technology that connects spacecraft directly to each other across multiple orbits, according to a news release.
“The system we’re developing will securely connect tactically linked spacecraft and systems across every orbit, but the best technology only changes the game if the government can afford to field it at speed and scale.”
Matt Magaña, Voyager Space
Space Systems Command, the Space Force branch that oversees satellite and launch acquisitions, awarded the contract to Voyager Technologies, a Denver-based defense and space technology company, the release said. The effort is intended to support a resilient data transport architecture for the Department of Defense. The release did not disclose the contract’s dollar value or duration.
Under the agreement, Voyager will design a flight-ready waveform — the signal format used to transmit data between spacecraft — capable of operating across a variety of orbits, according to the release. The design must meet Space Force standards for weight, power and operational life, among other requirements the release did not specify. Voyager will also carry out an on-orbit communication demonstration; the release did not give a date.
The contract is one of several Voyager has announced with defense customers in recent weeks, including agreements with Raytheon and Sandia National Laboratories, according to the company’s website.
Matt Magaña, president of Space, Defense & National Security at Voyager, said the technology is intended to link spacecraft and systems across every orbit.
“The system we’re developing will securely connect tactically linked spacecraft and systems across every orbit, but the best technology only changes the game if the government can afford to field it at speed and scale,” Magaña said in the release. “Our ability to deliver commercially with manufacturing capacity, transparent pricing and cost predictability is critical as the Space Force scales their data network.”
The release described the program as supporting the Space Force’s broader push to expand space-to-space communication technology and its network of proliferated satellites in low Earth orbit. Voyager’s work will draw on the company’s existing experience with radiation-hardened electronics and radio frequency payloads that have flown on prior missions, the release said.
No date for the on-orbit demonstration has been announced.