Military and Defence

by Christophe Bosquillon   At most conferences, there’s always the excuse of a plane to catch if you want to skip that last lunch keynote address. In the case of the latest von Braun Space Symposium thou, it would have been ill-advised. Mike Griffin delivered a compelling call to arms …

Millennium Space Systems, a Boeing company, announced on the 27th of November that it has completed the critical design review (CDR) for its Missile Track Custody (MTC) space vehicle. The CDR investigated not just an individual spacecraft, but also the overall constellation design. The MTC program is part of Space Systems Command’s (SSC) Space Sensing Resilient Missile Warning, Missile Tracking, Missile Defense program office.

In the most recent episode of “Space Café BeNeLux”, our host Dr. Heike Poignand, welcomed Kees Buijsrogge, Director High Tech for Civil & Military Space at TNO to an open discussion around the delicate topic how space technology is key for Europe’s sovereignty? The conversation highlighted the significance of space in Europe's sovereignty, the methods employed to achieve it—such as programs like IRIS²—and the integral role space plays in our daily life, impacting innovation and competitiveness, that are crucial especially for smaller nations like The Netherlands.

Space Systems Command (SSC) started its technology accelerator program at its newest Technology, Applications, and Process (TAP) Lab on the 28th of October. It has been supported by Virginia Tech’s Applied Research Corporation (VT-ARC) and MITRE Corporation. The opening day agenda welcomed more than 200 participants and showcased not only the mission of the Accelerator program, but also the physical space TAP Lab provides aiming to enhance the collaboration experience. 

Northrop Grumman Corporation has received an agreement with a total potential value of approximately $732 million to design and build 38 data transport satellites, from the Space Development Agency (SDA). These satellites will support Tranche 2 Transport Layer – Alpha (T2TL-Alpha), the latest iteration of SDA’s low-Earth orbit Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). Furthermore, the announcement follows an August 2023 award to Northrop Grumman of 36 satellites as part of Tranche 2 Transport Layer – Beta (T2TL-Beta)

Lockheed Martin has awarded Terran Orbital Corporation a contract to build 36 satellite buses for the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL) Beta constellation. Terran Orbital will consequently deliver the buses to Lockheed Martin, which will conduct payload integration and jointly operate the satellites with SDA.

We are almost there! The 2nd German Space Congress #Weltraumkongress is about to start in a few hours. But before, time to set up. Tomorrow I will report about the event, will offer you interviews, and I will have the pleasure of hosting the sustainability panel with my esteemed guests, Stephanie Deml, Ingo BAUMANN, Ernst K. Pfeiffer, Christopher Kebschull, and Christian Schmierer! I am looking forward to seeing many of you tomorrow. Enjoy Berlin!

Hisdesat, the Spanish governmental satellite services provider of defense, security and intelligence, has provided secure satellite communications for the Dynamic Messenger-23 exercise, an annual NATO exercise that aims to assess the ability of allied naval forces to integrate unmanned systems in maritime operations.

In the latest “Space Café BeNeLux”, our host Dr. Heike Poignand, welcomed Major Nicolas Gérôme, Head of Space Office at the Belgian Ministry of Defence to an eye-opening discussion of the question: “Space for Defence or Defence for Space?” Regarding Space for Defence 6 basic space applications are considered: Navigation and Timing, Satellite Communication, Earth Observation, Meteorology, Ballistic Missile Defence, and Space Situational awareness.

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission have signed an agreement on the 21st of September to use space to help keep information secure.