Overview

• A Falcon 9 from Vandenberg lifted off at 10:12 a.m. Eastern on Sept. 10 to place 21 York-built spacecraft into polar low Earth orbit for the Space Development Agency’s first Tranche 1 Transport Layer plane.
• The satellites will spend at least a few months in bus and payload checkout before providing operational value, with early adopters drawn from U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Tranche 1 plans call for 10 launches over roughly a year—six for the 126-strong Transport Layer and four for 28 missile warning/tracking spacecraft—with the next flight targeted for October using Lockheed Martin-built satellites.
• The relay network is designed to extend Link 16 beyond line of sight using optical inter-satellite links supplied by Tesat-Spacecom, with York’s variant also supporting K-band broadcasts and a demonstrated laser downlink.
• SDA leadership shifted this week as Derek Tournear departed and GP Sandhoo took over in an acting role, and plans for a Tranche 3 Transport Layer remain on hold during a Defense Department review of commercial alternatives.