What Happened
Five Defense Contractors Join Emerging Satellite Network-of-Networks Initiative
The Space Force has announced awards to five companies as part of a project to demonstrate the connectivity of its emerging Space Data Network (SDN) to multiple commercial satellite networks. The awards, worth $12 million each, were given to Amazon LEO for Government, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Rocket Lab, and York Space Systems. The project aims to validate integration methodologies and demonstrate that diverse commercial systems can seamlessly connect to and transport data across the core SDN system. As reported by Breaking Defense, the SDN is designed to provide low-latency, high-speed connectivity between US military sensors and shooters.