Space Development Agency Tranche 0 Transport Layer

Terran Orbital developed ten satellite buses for Lockheed Martin in support of the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 0 Transport Layer. The Tranche 0 spacecraft are built on Terran Orbital’s Zuma Platform, a micro-sat class spacecraft that leverages the MKII Avionics platform, typical to the Trestles platform.

The Tranche 0 foundation layer represents the initial step in building an interoperable, connected, secure mesh network. Once in orbit, Tranche 0 will demonstrate Joint All-Domain Operations capabilities by linking nodes together and creating seamless connectivity between all domains.

Space Development Agency’s Transport Layer will provide assured, resilient, low-latency military data and connectivity worldwide to the full range of warfighter platforms. The Transport Layer is exploring technical areas including, but not limited to:

• Optimized control of modulation techniques (including wide-band or narrow-band operations),
• Simultaneous transmit and receive technologies,
• Communications security functions (e.g., frequency hopping),
• Unique state-of-the-art waveforms,
• Space implementation of tactical data links,
• Automated dynamic networking and routing techniques,
• Commercial cryptographic systems,
• Blockchain technologies,
• Multiband phased array antennas, and
• Multi-level security (MLS).