Derek Tournear, director of the Space Development Agency and a previous Wash100 awardee, said SDA is working to establish a “mesh network” of laser communication crosslinks and demonstrate the Link 16 waveform as it prepares to operationalize the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, the Air and Space Forces Magazine reported Wednesday.
According to Tournear, two SpaceX-built missile tracking satellites that lifted off in April 2023 have demonstrated the functionality of the laser communications crosslinks. He also described how SDA and York Space Systems are working together to test the transmission of space-derived data using the Link 16 waveform.
In “the May timeframe, we’ll be able to have the mesh network [moving data] between the York satellites,” the SDA director said. “And then we’ll work the crosslinks between York and SpaceX.”
Tournear said he expects the agency to secure clearance to perform national airspace testing with its Tranche 0 satellites by the end of 2024.
He noted that SDA is also advancing efforts to launch Tranche 1 satellites by September.
“We don’t expect to—we will launch Tranche 1 satellites in 2024,” Tournear remarked.