Comms satellites to be integrated by Lockheed Martin
NewsApril 28, 2020
BETHESDA, Md. Lockheed Martin will integrate satellites for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in a $5.8 million contract, the company announced. The contract covers the first phase of integration of Project Blackjack, which will deploy a constellation of 20 small satellites to demonstrate that a low Earth orbit system can provide global high-speed communications.
DARPA's Blackjack program aims to develop a global network in low Earth orbit providing the Department of Defense with connected and autonomous coverage, intended to employ multiple payload types and missions.
The satellites are expected to be launched by 2022, the first group of hundreds of planned communications satellites according to the company.
DARPA's work on the project serves the Space Development Agency, which has said it intends to construct its own constellation of satellites to perform tasks with include hypersonic weapons tracking and beyond-line-of-sight tracking.
