COLORADO SPRINGS—Northrop Grumman announced April 18 that its Tranche 1 Transport Layer (T1TL) satellite constellation network has passed a critical design review (CDR).
The Space Development Agency (SDA) in March 2022 awarded a combined $1.8 billion to Northrop along with Lockheed Martin Space and York Space Systems to build a total of 126 satellites to form its T1TL layer. Payloads for these satellites will include Link 16 datalinks and Optical Intersatellite Links to distribute data that will be collected by Tracking Layer satellites and ground terminals.
Northrop is on contract to build 42 of the satellites, along with 14 Tranche 1 Tracking Layer satellites. The company says its communication satellites will provide resilient, low-latency, high-volume data transport as part of a secure element for Joint All Domain Command and Control.
“We are leveraging our commercial marketplace partnerships to deliver a rapid, affordable, highly effective solution for SDA,” says Blake Bullock, Northrop ’s vice president-communication systems for strategic space systems, in a statement. “Our T1TL solution builds on our decades of end-to-end mission expertise. We are uniquely capable of delivering a credible capability to support the warfighter.”
The company’s Tranche 1 Tracking Layer system, which includes an infrared sensor payload, recently completed a preliminary design review. Northrop is also providing ground systems for both the constellations. In addition to Northrop’s 14 tracking satellites, L3Harris is also under contract to provide 14 satellites.
