Naomi Cooper
Airbus’ U.S. space and defense business has been selected by Northrop Grumman to produce satellite platforms for the Space Development Agency’s low Earth orbit constellation.
Airbus U.S. Space & Defense will deliver 42 satellite platforms and provide vehicle assembly, integration and testing services in support of SDA’s Transport Layer Tranche 1 network of optically-interconnected space vehicles, the company said Tuesday.
The Airbus OneWeb Satellites factory, a joint venture between Airbus U.S. and OneWeb headquartered in Merritt Island, Florida, will manufacture the Arrow satellite bus that will accommodate payloads from Northrop Grumman and future government missions.
“The SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer is a critical national security program, and we are honored to support Northrop Grumman and the Space Development Agency,” said Robert Geckle, president and CEO of Airbus U.S. Space and Defense.
Northrop is one of the three companies awarded prototype contracts to build and demonstrate the foundation for the T1TL network.
