York Space Systems Awarded SDA Contract for 42 T1TL Satellites

Denver-headquartered aerospace company York Space Systems announced that it has been awarded a $382 million contract by the Space Development Agency to deliver 42 satellites for the Tranche 1 Transport Layer. The latest SDA order, along with five other commercial constellations, are driving demand for a rapid increase in satellite production capacity, York Space said Tuesday.

In a statement, the satellite manufacturer said it won the deal after submitting a bid that was nearly half the price offered by its nearest competitors. This became possible because of the cost savings from building the SDA’s new satellites on York Space’s LX-CLASS standard commercial platform.

Dirk Wallinger, York Space’s chief executive officer, said that due in part to the latest SDA award, the company can continue creating high-paying jobs in Colorado and building hardware domestically “to support a vibrant and growing space economy.”

The company added that the T1TL satellites will be built in its second manufacturing facility in the Denver Tech Center, which will reach its initial operating capacity in May 2022. The new facility will triple York Space’s production capacity, churning out up to 540 S-CLASS and LX-CLASS satellites per year.

In August 2020, York Space was also selected by SDA to build 10 satellites for Tranche 0, which are on schedule for their 2022 delivery date. 

On its website, the SDA said it envisions the Transport Layer satellite constellations to provide assured, resilient, low-latency military data and connectivity worldwide to the full range of warfighter platforms.