Space Development Agency selects 19 companies for low-Earth orbit demonstration program

WASHINGTON The Space Development Agency selected 19 companies from the space industry to participate in its Hybrid Acquisition for Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (HALO) program, an effort to accelerate the development of satellite technologies.

Under the program, the selected vendors will compete for contracts to carry out experimental space missions, providing the agency a testing ground for advanced technologies that may later be integrated into future satellite networks.

The goal is to test and refine technologies before integrating them into the SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) a large satellite network designed to enhance military communications and missile tracking capabilities.

“Through HALO, we now have an even faster and more flexible contracting mechanism in place,” said SDA Director Derek Tournear during remarks at the MilSat Symposium Oct. 23 in Mountain View, California. “The idea is to quickly compete, build, and fly demonstration missions to burn down risk for the future PWSA.”

Tournear said 40 proposals were received for the HALO program. The following companies were selected: Airbus U.S. Space & Defense, Apex Technology, AST Space Mobile, Astro Digital, Capella Space, CesiumAstro, Firefly Aerospace, Geneva Technologies, Impulse Space, Kepler Communications, Kuiper Government Solutions, LeoStella, Momentus Space, Muon Space, NovaWurks, SpaceX, Terran Orbital, Turion Space, York Space Systems.

These companies will compete under an indefinite-delivery-indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract model, which allows flexibility in awarding contracts over time without a fixed volume or schedule. They will bid for individual task orders for rapid prototyping and demonstration missions.

Each of the 19 vendors will receive an initial $20,000 payment to cover administrative and travel expenses.

The first task orders will focus on building and launching two satellites within the next 12 to 18 months. These early missions will test technologies such as tactical data links and optical communication, crucial components of the PWSA’s data-sharing capabilities. Tournear said the HALO demonstrations will help reduce the technological risk before systems are deployed in full operational capacity.

“As soon as a prototype order is issued, we want teams to start forming based on the best technology, best capability within the structure of HALO,” Frank Turner, SDA’s technical director, said Oct. 23 at the AFCEA Space Industry Days conference in Los Angeles.

Turner described the HALO program as a “fly before we buy” approach, in which SDA will test promising technologies in space before committing to large-scale deployments. “If we’re not 100% sure about a technology, let’s go figure it out with these demonstrations,” he said.

The selected companies range from established industry giants like SpaceX and Airbus U.S. Space & Defense to newer players such as Apex Technology and Muon Space, reflecting the SDAs goal of diversifying its vendor base and incorporating emerging technologies from across the commercial space sector.

The program also provides a platform for collaboration among the selected vendors, with SDA encouraging teams to form partnerships in pursuit of prototype orders. Tournear indicated that the pool of vendors may expand over time, depending on program needs and the success of early missions.