Space Force Andromeda awards
The U.S. Space Force awarded $1.843 billion across 14 contractors under its Andromeda programme to advance next‑generation orbital surveillance capabilities. The multi‑award approach spreads work across vendors for sensors, payload computing, communications and autonomy rather than locking to a single supplier, which implies varied onboard processing and mission‑computing approaches across efforts. (defence-industry.eu)
The U.S. Space Force has put 14 companies into a $1.843 billion Andromeda contract pool to build its next generation of orbital surveillance systems. (defence-industry.eu) The awards are fixed-price, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts that run through April 8, 2036. The Pentagon selected the firms from 32 proposals and obligated $1.4 million in fiscal 2025 research and development money at award, with most spending set to come later through task orders. (defence-industry.eu) The first task order will buy satellites for the program formerly known as RG-XX. Space Systems Command is using Andromeda to acquire systems that can track, identify and analyze other spacecraft on orbit. (defensescoop.com) Space surveillance in this case means satellites watching other satellites, especially in geosynchronous Earth orbit about 36,000 kilometers above Earth, where many military and intelligence spacecraft operate. The current Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program, or GSSAP, has six satellites on orbit after its first launches in 2014. (breakingdefense.com) Andromeda is set up to augment and possibly replace GSSAP with smaller spacecraft the service can refresh more often as threats change. Space Force officials have said the new satellites could begin coming online around 2030. (airandspaceforces.com) The service is also asking for more mobility in orbit. Officials said the new constellation is meant to support “dynamic space operations,” and Andromeda is among the first Space Force efforts considering satellites that can be refueled in orbit so they can keep maneuvering longer. (airandspaceforces.com) The 14 selected companies are Anduril Industries, Astranis Space Technologies, BAE Systems, General Atomics, Intuitive Machines, L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Millennium Space Systems, Northrop Grumman Systems, Quantum Space, Redwire, Sierra Space, True Anomaly and Turion Space. The mix includes large defense primes and newer commercial space companies. (defensescoop.com) Space Force officials said the point of the pool is not to lock the architecture before industry work starts. Colonel Bryon McClain said in January the service intended to use the first phase of the contract to refine requirements with companies “as a partner” while deciding how many satellites it needs and whether refueling should be mandatory. (airandspaceforces.com) That means Andromeda is as much an acquisition shift as a satellite buy. Space Systems Command plans annual competitions for task orders through 2036, giving the service a way to add vendors, update designs and buy newer surveillance hardware without reopening the whole program each time. (breakingdefense.com)
