Overview
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 placed 21 York-built Transport Layer satellites into polar orbit on July 16, 2026, bringing SDA’s Tranche 1 total to 63 of the planned 126 spacecraft.
- SDA paused launches earlier this year after finding software faults, thermal-modeling problems and electric-propulsion orbit-raising issues on the first 42 satellites and has applied fixes and extra checkouts before resuming flights.
- The program’s key capability — optical inter-satellite laser links that would form a low-latency mesh — has not yet been demonstrated in orbit and SDA plans to activate links within planes first before attempting between-plane connections.
- SDA has shifted from a near-monthly launch rhythm to a readiness-based model that launches manufacturers’ satellites when they finish checkout, and the agency still needs FAA and spectrum approvals to test Link 16 over the continental United States.
- The Transport Layer is meant to be the low-cost, resilient backbone for missile warning and rapid sensor-to-shooter data under the Pentagon’s Golden Dome concept, and the next launches and mesh commissioning will determine whether the network meets its 2027 capability goals.