L3Harris Advances on SDA Missile Tracking Satellite Project

L3Harris Technologies said it has completed design and production reviews on the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 1 Tracking Layer project, advancing work on the program’s goal to deliver16 missile tracking satellites.

The critical design review that the company conducted showed that the design will fit mission needs, while the production readiness review will usher in SDA approval to start the production process, according to the company’s announcement Wednesday.

L3 Harris won the SDA’s T1TRK project in July 2022, which is part of a program to send a constellation of small satellites in low-Earth orbit to detect, pinpoint and track advanced hypersonic missile threats.

The completed reviews bring the SDA closer to its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture’s goal of a layered military satellite network, L3Harris said.

The company disclosed that its T1TRK team started fabricating satellite sub-assemblies even before the design review, promptly transitioning work to the assembly and integration phase after the CDR and PRR completion.

The T1TRK contract involves over 20 subcontractors and suppliers for the satellites’ parts and ground system support. One supplier, Numerica, is providing space-based sensor fusion technology that L3Harris said is T1TRK’s cornerstone.