The Space Development Agency should put its next launch of data transport and missile tracking satellites on hold until it demonstrates required laser communications capabilities with the spacecraft already in orbit, according to a government watchdog report.
The Government Accountability Office on Wednesday issued a deep-dive review of the Space Development Agency’s progress toward demonstrating that its satellites can connect in space via a laser link. The complex technology allows satellites to share data amongst themselves and with users on the ground using optical communications terminals installed on the spacecraft. The result is much faster, higher-volume data transmissions than traditional systems, which rely on radio frequency beams to send information.
Because the satellites in SDA’s constellation are built by multiple vendors, compatibility among terminals and the ability to communicate across a network of hundreds of satellites is key for their vision of high-speed data transport.
GAO found that while SDA has made progress in some areas — like developing an optical terminal standard, testing the capability in a lab and maturing some of the enabling technologies — it hasn’t been able to validate the technology on orbit as fast as it had hoped. That’s in part because of supply-chain challenges that delayed the launch of its demonstration satellites, dubbed Tranche 0, disrupting its timeline for proving the technology works.
“About one quarter into the 5-year design life of the first T0 satellites, limited capability has been demonstrated,” GAO said. “We analyzed SDA’s documentation and identified at least eight capabilities as central to demonstrating a mesh network with laser communications technology and could have been demonstrated in T0.”
Further, GAO argues that SDA’s mandate to rapidly deliver a proliferated satellite constellation — launching satellites with new capabilities on a two-year cycle — is part of the problem.
“SDA’s schedule-driven focus impedes its ability to incorporate lessons from each tranche, a key feature of iterative development,” GAO said. “As a result, it has not fully incorporated lessons learned and corrective updates into these follow-on efforts.”
The agency has successfully demonstrated some laser communication capabilities. Last September, it conducted an optical crosslink test using its 27 Tranche 0 satellites. At the time, SDA Director Derek Tournear said the successful test marked the completion of all the agency’s Tranche 0 demonstration targets.
Then in January, two SDA contractors — SpaceX and York Space Systems — validated the ability to connect two of their satellites in orbit, proving a key linkage between spacecraft built by different vendors.
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While these successful demonstrations are “a significant step,” GAO said, they make up only a small portion of the milestones the Tranche 0 satellites were expected to hit. GAO recommended SDA demonstrate the required optical communications capabilities before its first Tranche 1 launch, which is currently slated for March or April. It made similar recommendations for future tranches.
According to the report, SDA officials contend that not all of the technologies GAO identified need to be demonstrated. But that statement is at odds with contract language that describes SDA’s intent to demonstrate the capabilities as part of its baseline system, GAO said.
Still, SDA concurred with GAO’s recommendations, saying that it does plan to demonstrate key capabilities in one tranche before launching another. In a Feb. 6 memo, the Defense Department argued that it had met its minimum capability requirements for Tranche 0 and intended to do the same prior to fielding future tranches.
An SDA spokesperson told Defense News in a statement Thursday that while GAO is accurate to say the agency hasn’t demonstrated the “full range” of laser communications capabilities, it has met the foundational objectives it set for Tranche 0.
“SDA successfully met the baseline objectives set forth in Tranche 0; proving critical technology and providing lessons learned for both the government and vendor teams, thereby enabling the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture to deliver future capabilities to the warfighter rapidly and efficiently,” the spokesperson said.
“We will continue to apply lessons learned across the PWSA, employing a spiral development model with each tranche building upon earlier generations – and informing the development of those capabilities with the latest available technology advancements and intelligence assessments,” SDA continued.
The agency is currently addressing concerns raised by GAO and may further delay its first Tranche 1 launch, which was previously slated for last year.
The watchdog assessment comes as SDA’s performance — and its director — face heightened scrutiny within DOD.
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In late January, the Pentagon’s acting acquisition executive, Steve Morani, ordered a review of SDA’s progress as well as its organizational structure. An independent review team will consider schedule and development risks and propose remedies to mitigate any issues it identifies.
The team will also evaluate the structure of the agency, which currently operates as a standalone acquisition office within the Space Force. Rather than report to the service’s primary development and procurement field command, SDA reports directly to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration and the chief of space operations.
Meanwhile, Tournear was placed on administrative leave Jan. 16 as the Air Force Office of the Inspector General investigates a past contract action that may have violated the federal Procurement Integrity Act.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include a statement from the Space Development Agency.
Courtney Albon is C4ISRNET’s space and emerging technology reporter. She has covered the U.S. military since 2012, with a focus on the Air Force and Space Force. She has reported on some of the Defense Department’s most significant acquisition, budget and policy challenges.
