WASHINGTON - The U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command has awarded 14 companies positions on a $1.843 billion ceiling, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Andromeda program to develop space-based space domain awareness (SDA) capabilities.
The awardees are Anduril Industries Inc. in Costa Mesa, Calif.; Astranis Space Technologies Corp. in San Francisco; BAE Systems Inc. Space Mission Systems in Broomfield, Colo.; General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems in San Diego; Intuitive Machines LLC in Houston; L3Harris Technologies Inc. in Rochester, N.Y.; Lockheed Martin Corp. in Littleton, Colo.; Millennium Space Systems Inc. in El Segundo, Calif.; Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in Dulles, Va.; Quantum Space LLC in Rockville, Md.; Redwire Space Missions LLC in Littleton, Colo.; Sierra Space Corp. in Louisville, Colo.; True Anomaly Inc. in Centennial, Colo.; and Turion Space Corp. in Irvine, Calif.
The contract provides for procurement of space-based SDA systems, with work expected to be completed by 8 April 2036. A total of 32 offers were received, and fiscal 2025 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $1.4 million are being obligated at the time of award.
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The Department of Defense (DOD) announcement does not specify the technical architecture of the Andromeda program. However, given current Space Force SDA systems and industry capabilities, space-based SDA architectures are generally designed to improve the tracking of objects in Earth orbit by overcoming the geographic and environmental limitations of ground-based radar and optical systems. These space-based approaches enable more persistent observation, higher revisit rates, and improved viewing geometry, particularly at higher orbital altitudes.
Current systems
In existing SDA programs, such capabilities are typically achieved through a combination of electro-optical and infrared imaging sensors for detection and tracking, along with radio-frequency sensing payloads that detect and geolocate satellite emissions. These data sources are often combined using sensor-fusion techniques to improve tracking accuracy and object characterization.
Similarly, modern SDA architectures increasingly rely on onboard data processing to manage the large volumes of sensor data generated in orbit. Radiation-tolerant processors, graphics processing units, and FPGA-based accelerators are commonly used to perform initial detection and filtering functions before data is transmitted to the ground. Artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques are also being incorporated into these workflows to assist with object classification and anomaly detection.
Data transport is another key consideration. Current designs frequently incorporate high-throughput radio frequency (RF) communications and, in some cases, optical inter-satellite links to enable data sharing across distributed satellite constellations and reduce latency in delivering information to operators.
