Latest news with #DerekTournear
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Space Development Agency director reinstated after three-month review
The Space Force will reinstate Space Development Agency Derek Tournear this week after an investigation into past contracting practices involving the agency's proliferated satellite constellation, officials said. Tournear, who has been on administrative leave since mid-January, will resume his duties as SDA director April 17, according to an Air Force spokesperson. William Blauser, deputy director of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, had been serving as the agency's acting director. The spokesperson did not provide further details on the outcome of the investigation, but said 'the matter was addressed through established civilian personnel processes.' Meanwhile, the Pentagon launched a separate review of SDA's organizational culture. The Air Force spokesperson told Defense News that review is being finalized, and once complete, Tournear will take the lead on implementing any recommendations. SDA was created in 2019 as a standalone acquisition organization within the Space Force. The agency's task has been to quickly field a constellation of hundreds of advanced missile-tracking and data transport satellites in low Earth orbit, about 1,200 miles above the Earth's surface. Its approach, under Tournear's leadership, has been to iteratively field capability in batches, also known as tranches, taking available technology and upgrading it every two years or so. The contracting practices under investigation involved a contract awarded last August to Tyvak, a small satellite provider and Lockheed Martin subsidiary. Tyvak received $254 million and York Space Systems $170 million to each build and operate 10 prototype satellites to demonstrate advanced tactical satellite communications. The following month, Viasat, one of the losing bidders, filed a protest with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, alleging SDA did not fairly consider its proposal and that other firms were given an unfair advantage in the process. As part of an internal review, the Air Force determined that an SDA official violated the Procurement Integrity Act in its communication with Tyvak and other contractors, and in February, SDA said it would recompete the firm's contract but leave York's intact.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Space Development Agency delays next launch amid supply chain woes
The Space Development Agency will push the launch of its next satellites until late this summer — another setback due to vendor delivery delays. 'With the added challenge of late supplier deliveries, it has become clear additional time is required for system readiness to meet the Tranche 1 minimum viable capability,' the agency said in a statement. The satellites are part of a mega constellation of data transport and missile tracking spacecraft known as the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. SDA is launching the satellites in what it calls tranches and currently has 27 spacecraft in orbit as part of Tranche 0. Those first systems are meant to prove the viability of the constellation, and Tranche 1 will deliver the first operational capability. The agency initially planned to start launching the Tranche 1 satellites in September 2024, but has walked back those plans on several occasions because of mounting delays from the companies building those spacecraft. Most recently, SDA was eyeing an April launch date. Despite the delay, SDA expects to meet its requirement to provide 'initial warfighting capability' by early 2027. An SDA official, who was granted anonymity in order to speak freely about the program, told reporters the team has been able to perform some level of validation while the spacecraft are on the ground, which should speed up the on-orbit test timeline. The agency also has 'a little margin and some flexibility' on its test requirements, which could help maintain schedule, the official said. Tranche 1 is expected to feature 154 operational satellites and four demonstration systems. Of the operational spacecraft, 126 will be part of SDA's data transport layer and the other 28 will be part of its missile warning and tracking layer. Once the first Tranche 1 satellites lift off later this year, SDA will kick off a launch campaign targeting one mission per month. The decision to delay the launch was made my SDA leadership in partnership with the Space Force, the official said. Supply chain issues have been a persistent challenge for the program, and while some hang-ups have been resolved along the way, others, including components like encryption devices and optical communications terminals, have remained. Speaking at a Defense News conference in September 2024, SDA Director Derek Tournear linked program slow-downs to financial troubles among some SDA vendors who have struggled to scale their manufacturing capacity to meet requirements. That includes California-based Mynaric, which supplies optical terminals to several of the agency's satellite providers and has struggled to ramp up production. Tournear said parts of SDA's vendor base are experiencing 'growing pains' as they adapt to the agency's go-fast approach, which calls for launching new technology on a two-year cycle. The model is built on the idea that over time, firms will adapt to this approach and face fewer supply challenges. Meanwhile, SDA's procurement model and its leadership have come under scrutiny in recent months, starting with a Jan. 16 announcement that Tournear had been placed on administrative leave due to an ongoing Air Force Inspector General investigation. The investigation involves a past contract action that may have violated the Federal Procurement Integrity Act. Later in January, the Pentagon's acting acquisition executive ordered a review of SDA's performance and organizational structure, establishing an independent team to consider schedule and development risks and recommend mitigations to any issues it finds. In late February, the Government Accountability Office recommended SDA reevaluate its launch plans due to lagging technology maturity, claiming that early satellites haven't met performance objectives. SDA said in response that while GAO is accurate to say the agency hasn't demonstrated the 'full range' of capabilities, it has met the foundational objectives it set for Tranche 0.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
SDA should re-evaluate launch plans as key tech lags, watchdog says
The Space Development Agency should put its next launch of data transport and missile tracking satellites on hold until it demonstrates required laser communications capabilities with the spacecraft already in orbit, according to a government watchdog report. The Government Accountability Office on Wednesday issued a deep-dive review of the Space Development Agency's progress toward demonstrating that its satellites can connect in space via a laser link. The complex technology allows satellites to share data amongst themselves and with users on the ground using optical communications terminals installed on the spacecraft. The result is much faster, higher-volume data transmissions than traditional systems, which rely on radio frequency beams to send information. Because the satellites in SDA's constellation are built by multiple vendors, compatibility among terminals and the ability to communicate across a network of hundreds of satellites is key for their vision of high-speed data transport. GAO found that while SDA has made progress in some areas — like developing an optical terminal standard, testing the capability in a lab and maturing some of the enabling technologies — it hasn't been able to validate the technology on orbit as fast as it had hoped. That's in part because of supply-chain challenges that delayed the launch of its demonstration satellites, dubbed Tranche 0, disrupting its timeline for proving the technology works. 'About one quarter into the 5-year design life of the first T0 satellites, limited capability has been demonstrated,' GAO said. 'We analyzed SDA's documentation and identified at least eight capabilities as central to demonstrating a mesh network with laser communications technology and could have been demonstrated in T0.' Further, GAO argues that SDA's mandate to rapidly deliver a proliferated satellite constellation — launching satellites with new capabilities on a two-year cycle — is part of the problem. 'SDA's schedule-driven focus impedes its ability to incorporate lessons from each tranche, a key feature of iterative development,' GAO said. 'As a result, it has not fully incorporated lessons learned and corrective updates into these follow-on efforts.' The agency has successfully demonstrated some laser communication capabilities. Last September, it conducted an optical crosslink test using its 27 Tranche 0 satellites. At the time, SDA Director Derek Tournear said the successful test marked the completion of all the agency's Tranche 0 demonstration targets. Then in January, two SDA contractors — SpaceX and York Space Systems — validated the ability to connect two of their satellites in orbit, proving a key linkage between spacecraft built by different vendors. Space Development Agency validates high-speed satellite comm links While these successful demonstrations are 'a significant step,' GAO said, they make up only a small portion of the milestones the Tranche 0 satellites were expected to hit. GAO recommended SDA demonstrate the required optical communications capabilities before its next launch, which is slated for March or April. It made similar recommendations for future tranches. According to the report, SDA officials contend that not all of the technologies GAO identified need to be demonstrated. But that statement is at odds with contract language that describes SDA's intent to demonstrate the capabilities as part of its baseline system, GAO said. Still, SDA concurred with GAO's recommendations, saying that it does plan to demonstrate key capabilities in one tranche before launching another. In a Feb. 6 memo, the Defense Department argued that it had met its minimum capability requirements for Tranche 0 and intended to do the same prior to fielding future tranches. GAO said the evidence it gathered in its review refutes the agency's claims, adding 'SDA is not already taking the actions we recommend.' The watchdog assessment comes as SDA's performance — and its director — face heightened scrutiny within DOD. Pentagon acquisition office orders review of Space Development Agency In late January, the Pentagon's acting acquisition executive, Steve Morani, ordered a review of SDA's progress as well as its organizational structure. An independent review team will consider schedule and development risks and propose remedies to mitigate any issues it identifies. The team will also evaluate the structure of the agency, which currently operates as a standalone acquisition office within the Space Force. Rather than report to the service's primary development and procurement field command, SDA reports directly to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration and the chief of space operations. Meanwhile, Tournear was placed on administrative leave Jan. 16 as the Air Force Office of the Inspector General investigates a past contract action that may have violated the federal Procurement Integrity Act.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Space Development Agency to re-bid contentious prototype contract
The Space Development Agency will recompete a contract awarded last year to Tyvak, a small satellite manufacturer, following a lawsuit claiming the agency violated procurement rules. Last August, SDA awarded contracts to Tyvak and York Space Systems to develop prototype satellites to demonstrate advanced tactical satellite communication capabilities that could inform future technology development within the agency. Tyvak received $254 million and York $170 million to build and operate 10 satellites each. The next month, Viasat, one of the losing bidders, filed a protest with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims alleging SDA did not fairly consider its proposal and that other firms were given an unfair advantage in the process. As part of an internal review, the Air Force determined that an SDA official violated the Procurement Integrity Act in its communication with Tyvak and other contractors, and in an update filed Feb. 14, SDA said it would re-compete the firm's contract but leave York's intact. Tyvak, a subsidiary of Terran Orbital that is now owned by Lockheed Martin, has been under a stop work order since mid-December, an SDA spokesperson told Defense News. York's work, however, has not been disrupted. SDA declined to provide details on the schedule for awarding a new contract and said a solicitation will be released soon. According to the court documents, the competition will be managed by personnel not involved in the original awards. The court filings note that re-opening competition for the effort could have implications for SDA's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, a constellation that will include hundreds of data-transport and missile-tracking satellites. Because the prototypes are meant to inform future technology for that constellation, a delay to their delivery could be a setback for the effort. An SDA spokesperson refused to elaborate on the impact of the delay. The documents claim that an SDA procurement official influenced the source selection by revealing to one of the competing contractors that its bid was the second highest the agency received and wouldn't be selected. The official also instructed Tyvak to partner with an unnamed contractor and conveyed 'expectations regarding their proposal pricing.' The Air Force in its review called the communication 'prejudicial.' Following the review, the service placed then-Space Development Agency Director Derek Tournear on administrative leave, and on Jan. 16 appointed Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, who leads Space Systems Command, as acting director. Garrant has since been replaced by William Blauser, who is now leading SDA in an acting capacity. The Air Force's inspector general, meanwhile, is investigating Tournear, and the Pentagon's acquisition executive Steven Morani has directed the Air Force to establish an independent review team to evaluate SDA's performance, organizational structure and acquisition approach.
