Lockheed Martin has declared its Pony Express 2 technology demonstration mission ready for launch.
Lockheed said Thursday that the mission involves the use of two 12U Renegade-class space vehicles provided by Terran Orbital to carry payloads that would showcase several capabilities — enhanced connectivity, autonomous mission scheduling, mission flexibility, agile operations and artificial intelligence-enabled proactive troubleshooting.
The launch is expected to take place no earlier than March 2024. SpaceX’s Transporter-10 rideshare mission will provide the launch service.
Pony Express 2 will become available to participate in government exercises once the technology demonstrations are completed. Eventually, the mission will be joined by other satellites to form the Space-Augmented Joint All-Domain Operations Environment, which is meant to showcase Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control.
Maria Demaree, vice president and general manager for National Security Space at Lockheed and a Wash100 awardee, said, “The Pony Express 2 mission will showcase how we can keep our warfighters connected from space across every domain even in the most austere and contested environments.”
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