Lockheed Martin will build Transport Layer satellites for the Space Development Agency at the new facility. (Image: Lockheed Martin)
The company plans to move the manufacture of Transport Layer satellites for the US Space Development Agency (SDA) into the new facility. The company is currently manufacturing 10 Tranche 0 satellites at another facility but the 42 Tranche 1 units will be built at the new factory along with other small satellites and Cubesats.
SDA’s Transport Layer will provide military users with low-latency communication links through a resilient network of integrated capabilities from low-Earth orbit. Tranche 1 satellites are expected to begin launching in 2024.
The 20,000-square-foot low bay clean room, located on the company’s Waterton campus, in Littleton, Colorado, will feature six scalable parallel assembly lines and is configurable to host different classifications of missions concurrently.
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The facility hosts dedicated testing capabilities, including thermal cycle and electromagnetic chambers, scaled to efficiently build and test satellites ranging in size from CubeSats to smallsats. The tailored fit is designed to reduce waste and optimises energy and space, supporting the delivery of 180 satellites or more per year.
The airborne three-domain, the two ground-based and the ¼ ATR OpenVPX-based cross-domain systems were engineered to provide real-time security across multi-domain operations.
DARPA’s Mission-Integrated Network Control (MINC) programme was set up to develop an autonomous tactical network and enable critical data flow in contested environments.
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Defence-secure mixed reality headsets can save hours, or even weeks, of travel time to fix defunct equipment or get subject experts effectively “on-site” where they are needed.
The Joint Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare (JCREW) counter-improvised explosive device (C-IED) and Drone Restricted Access Using Known Electromagnetic Warfare (DRAKE) counter-UAS (CUAS) systems are mounted and dismounted RF jammers.
Adarga’s Vantage information analysis tool is in service with the UK MoD and individual UK forces. It builds on the company’s Knowledge Platform which processes, organises and analyses open source material, as well as information held by the user’s military, security and intelligence services.
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