Derek Tournear, director of the Space Development Agency (SDA) and a first-time winner of the 2021 Wash100 Award, said that SDA has embraced innovative approaches to help the military build and field technologies for the space domain, DOD News reported Friday.
He told his audience at the Small Satellite Symposium Thursday that the agency aims to build a mesh network designed to work with tactical data links that support defense weapons.
SDA’s planned satellites could launch beginning in fiscal 2022 to augment missile threat detection, situational awareness, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance or precision, navigation and timing efforts, according to the director. Tournear added the agency plans to apply an incremental method to updating algorithms or autonomous platforms.
The Potomac Officers Club’s virtual SDA Forum on March 4 will feature Tournear as a keynote speaker to discuss opportunities and challenges within the space technology sector. To register for the 2021 SDA Forum, visit Potomac Officers Club’s Event Page.