{"id":50404,"date":"2023-04-03T18:30:53","date_gmt":"2023-04-03T18:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2023\/04\/03\/space-force-fleshing-out-second-phase-of-missile-tracking-program\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:28:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:28:17","slug":"space-force-fleshing-out-second-phase-of-missile-tracking-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2023\/04\/03\/space-force-fleshing-out-second-phase-of-missile-tracking-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Space Force fleshing out second phase of missile-tracking program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Space Force is ramping up planning for the second phase of its medium-Earth orbit missile tracking program, part of a broader effort to make the service\u2019s space-based missile defense capabilities more resilient against enemy threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Space Systems Command, the Space Force\u2019s primary acquisition arm, released a notice March 31 <a href=\"https:\/\/sam.gov\/opp\/dd1ca81aaa0d4887b070506f9d2f385b\/view\" target=\"_blank\">seeking feedback from companies on its strategy<\/a> to build a fleet of missile tracking satellites in medium Earth orbit, or MEO, which will reside at an altitude between 1,200 and 22,000 miles (1,931 and 35,406 kilometers) above sea level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The service hasn\u2019t released the details of its strategy for the second phase of its MEO-based missile tracking architecture, dubbed \u201cEpoch 2,\u201d but said in a statement that it will build on the program\u2019s first epoch, which will feature <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/battlefield-tech\/space\/2023\/01\/06\/raytheon-millennium-get-more-funding-for-missile-tracking-satellites\/\" target=\"_blank\">at least nine satellites built by Millennium Space Systems and Raytheon<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The program is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/battlefield-tech\/space\/2022\/04\/19\/space-force-budget-presents-a-bridge-strategy-for-missile-warning-tracking-architecture\/\">one component of the Space Force\u2019s plan<\/a> to strengthen its missile warning and tracking capabilities against increasing threats from China and Russia by launching satellites to MEO and low-Earth orbit, or up to 1,200 miles above the planet. Today, those spacecraft mostly reside in geosynchronous orbit, or GEO, about 22,000 miles away. Satellites located at MEO, between LEO and GEO, can observe large areas without requiring the same level of complexity from sensors positioned further away from the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Space Force is seeking $538 million for the MEO tracking satellites in fiscal 2024, largely to support Epoch 1. The service projects it will need $3.5 billion for the program between FY24 and FY28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Millennium, a Boeing subsidiary, and Raytheon have contracts to build Epoch 1 prototypes that will fly as soon as 2026. They include options for the service to purchase as many as three satellites each, though budget documents indicate it will purchase six from Millennium <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/battlefield-tech\/space\/2023\/01\/13\/lawmakers-chart-middle-course-on-space-based-missile-warning-funding\/\" target=\"_blank\">using a $130 million funding add Congress provided in FY23<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Space Force may also bring on a third provider and could award a contract by the end of this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By 2028, the Space Force expects to have four MEO satellites on orbit with a goal of launching technology upgrades on a two-year cycle \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/battlefield-tech\/space\/2022\/12\/05\/how-the-space-development-agency-could-have-died-any-number-of-ways\/\" target=\"_blank\">similar to the Space Development Agency\u2019s approach<\/a> of regularly fielding new satellites to increase the performance of its fleet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The program is one component of the Space Force\u2019s plan to strengthen missile tracking capabilities against threats from Russia and China.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":112108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":23,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,33,36,23],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3468],"class_list":["post-50404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-newsletters","category-space"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"A3GO535OEFA4FI64FRY75XH32I","arc_canonical_url":"\/battlefield-tech\/space\/2023\/04\/03\/space-force-fleshing-out-second-phase-of-missile-tracking-program\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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