L3Harris Technologies has reached a key milestone in the development of a missile tracking satellite prototype for the Space Development Agency (SDA), completing a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) that defines the spacecraft’s design baseline for delivery to SDA and allows the program to move to the next stage of delivering ground-breaking new capabilities at speed.
When completed, the satellites will provide the capability to detect and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles via overhead persistent infrared sensing from low earth orbit.
“We’ve worked closely with SDA to ensure our design taps proven technology that can scale to address the changing mission,” said Ed Zoiss, President of L3Harris Space and Airborne Systems. “We understand the threat and are focused on delivery.”
L3Harris received the tracking layer prototype award in 2020 to develop and integrate an end-to-end satellite system under a $193 million firm fixed-price contract. Total period of performance runs through 2025 and covers four space vehicle launches.
