Dynetics announced on Thursday that the wholly-owned subsidiary of Leidos has successfully launched the Lonestar tactical space support vehicle from Mojave Air and Space Port, as a payload aboard Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne, for the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC).
“The successful contact of our satellite in orbit is a substantial milestone for our team and the years of work supporting critical national security missions in space,” said Leidos Dynetics Group President Steve Cook.
Lonestar, a technology demonstrator designed to provide space-based situational awareness directly into the hands of the tactical warfighter, was developed, tested, integrated and delivered the tactical space support vehicle (TSSV) through the Design, Development, Demonstration and Integration (D3I), Domain 1 task order.
The Lonestar team verified the payload mission software through a series of tests that ensured functional operation of the payload flight hardware through Dynetic’s expertise in space systems and high-performance signal processing applications enabled rapid development. As well as its use of hardware-in-the-loop testing and simulation.
“This will enable further development for our growing satellite capabilities and accelerate our customer’s national security mission in space,” Cook added.
Dynetics completed the on-orbit satellite and payload checkouts with the USASMDC payload development laboratory on the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. The laboratory provides ground systems for command and telemetry to the satellite. The payload is operational and ready to support the situational awareness mission for the warfighter.
About Dynetics
Dynetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos, provides responsive, cost-effective engineering, scientific, IT solutions to national security, cybersecurity, space and critical infrastructure sectors. Our portfolio features highly specialized technical services and a range of software and hardware products, including components, subsystems and complex end-to-end systems.
