Space News:
Industry watchers were surprised last month when the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command announced it was ending the Kestrel Eye small satellite experiment. The $2 million project was to test the use of small satellites in direct support of Army forces on the ground.
But the Army’s interest in small satellites has not wavered. Pentagon contractor Dynetics announced last week it has been selected to develop small satellites for the USASMDC/ARSTRAT under a program named Gunsmoke-L. It is a two-year deal, plus one option year valued at $8.3 million to develop, test, integrate and demonstrate two tactical space support vehicles “which will be used to enhance all phases of joint force operations,” the company said in a news release.
The satellites will host the “next generation of tactical space support payloads designed to operate in low Earth orbit for a minimum of two years.
