Space News:

The Space Force is planning its next major procurement of satellites — a constellation in medium Earth orbit that will track missile launches — as the service’s acquisitions come under increasing scrutiny.

The Space Systems Command next year will seek industry bids for as many as four infrared sensing satellites in medium Earth orbit (MEO) for missile warning and tracking. The satellites will add a new layer to the Pentagon’s planned multi-orbit architecture of space sensors.

“We will provide increased capacity and capability, and ultimately resilience for the entire architecture,” Col. Brian Denaro, space sensing program executive officer at Space Systems Command, said Oct. 19 at an industry conference in Los Angeles hosted by AFCEA, the National Defense Industrial Association, the Southern California Aerospace Professional Representative, and the Air and Space Forces Association.

Denaro said this procurement will take a “clean slate approach” and not follow the traditional processes used in legacy satellite acquisitions.

The Pentagon decided to add MEO satellites to the missile-defense architecture to provide extra eyes on enemy hypersonic missiles. Compared to current sensors in geostationary satellites, sensors in medium orbits would see closer to Earth and track a wider area than satellites in low Earth orbit.

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