The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command announced it is accelerating delivery of the Space Data Network (SDN) Backbone through the establishment of an SDN Mission Operations Center.
In partnership with the Golden Dome for America, the SSC established the MOC as a key step in delivering an integrated, resilient, multi-vendor capability to support Joint Force connectivity across domains. Golden Dome for America is the U.S. Department of War’s homeland defense initiative that integrates sensors, data, command-and-control, and defensive systems across domains to detect, track, and defeat advanced missile and aerial threats. The MOC will bring together mission integration, network operations, and data transport management across the multi-vendor architecture, helping SSC’s Space-Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio field an operationally integrated capability.
“Establishing this Mission Operations Center is a crucial step in maturing our Space Data Network into a fully operational, multi-vendor capability,” Space Force Lt. Col. Alexa Eggert, materiel leader for the SBST SDN Backbone program, said.
As the central integration hub for orchestrating mission systems across multiple providers, the MOC strengthens the foundation for secure, high-capacity connectivity support for warfighters across air, land, sea and space domains, officials said. The effort builds on the multi-vendor acquisition strategy demonstrated under the SBST portfolio’s prior work with Amazon LEO for Government, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Rocket Lab and York Space Systems.
As part of its efforts, SSC awarded a competitive Indefinite Delivery/Indefinity Quantity contract of up to $450 million to Viasat, Inc., with an initial task order of $115 million to design, field and scale the MOC, with Viasat, Inc. serving as the network and mission system integration partner.
“The MOC establishes the mission operations layer needed to integrate the diverse space data transport and space exchange systems being developed across related efforts,” Eggert said. “By bringing the systems together in one place, it positions us to deliver a more integrated mission capability across multiple constellations and systems.”