Overview
- BAE Systems was awarded a Space Systems Command contract to design and demonstrate ultra‑compact radio‑frequency terminals intended for a space‑based data layer.
- The company will adapt its space‑qualified software‑defined radios and radiation‑hardened hardware to meet military security and reliability requirements in orbit.
- Engineers will run space‑characterization tests and government‑partnered demonstrations to validate the hardware’s suitability for orbital operations before wider fielding.
- The terminals are being built to operate from low Earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit and to resist deliberate jamming, electromagnetic interference, and space radiation.
- BAE says it is positioning the design for scalable manufacturing to speed deployment if demonstrations succeed, but the program remains in the development and demonstration phase with no launch dates or contract value disclosed.