WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force selected 14 companies to compete for contracts under a new $1.8 billion procurement of satellites and supporting technologies to monitor activity in geosynchronous orbit.
The program known as Andromeda is structured as a $1.8 billion, 10-year contracting vehicle managed by Space Systems Command. It establishes a pool of vendors that will compete for task orders to design and build spacecraft and supporting systems.
The service said April 8 it chose the companies from 32 proposals submitted in response to a January solicitation.
The selected vendors span a mix of established defense contractors and newer space firms: Anduril Industries, Astranis, BAE Systems, Space Mission Systems, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, Intuitive Machines, L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Millennium Space Systems, Northrop Grumman, Quantum Space, Redwire, Sierra Space, True Anomaly and Turion Space.
The lineup reflects a deliberate effort by the Space Force to broaden its supplier base, pairing large incumbents with venture-backed entrants that have been pushing into national security missions.
Andromeda is aimed at space domain awareness — tracking, identifying and interpreting the behavior of objects in orbit. The initial task order will focus on satellites capable of observing activity in geosynchronous orbit, roughly 22,000 miles above Earth, where many of the military’s most valuable communications and missile-warning systems operate.
These spacecraft are often described as on-orbit “neighborhood watch” systems. They maneuver near other satellites to inspect them, monitor for unusual activity and provide intelligence that ground-based sensors cannot capture as easily.
The first competition under Andromeda will fund satellites for a program known as RG-XX (Geosynchronous Reconnaissance and Surveillance), which is expected to deliver satellites to replace the current Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) fleet.
GSSAP consists of a small number of highly capable but costly satellites. The new approach signals a shift toward a larger and potentially more distributed architecture that can be refreshed more frequently.
The IDIQ structure gives the Space Force flexibility to issue task orders over time without recompeting the entire program, allowing it to bring in new designs and technologies as they mature.
Space Force leaders have noted that geosynchronous orbit is becoming more congested, with increased activity from China, including satellites capable of maneuvering close to others. The ability to monitor those movements in detail has become a higher priority for military planners.