Supply chain delays that have affected the Space Development Agency may be a precursor for broader industrial base challenges across the service’s satellite portfolio, according to a top Space Force official.
SDA is in the process of launching a megaconstellation of missile warning and data transport satellites, but the first two phases of the effort have been delayed due to production issues with some of its suppliers. The problem, which originated during the COVID-19 pandemic, delayed the launch of its first batch of satellites by seven months.
Now, the launch of the first spacecraft in its second capability tranche is six months behind — this time due to smaller suppliers struggling to deliver key parts in larger quantities.
Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein said Saturday that SDA Director Derek Tournear’s supply chain challenges can serve as a “canary in the coal mine” for the broader national security space community.
“Because of the quantities that he’s ordering, he’s now starting to uncover the challenges that we have with the industrial base,” he said during the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California. “These challenges are significant and we need to figure out how to get after them.”
SDA currently has 27 satellites in orbit, part of what it calls its Tranche 0 demonstration layer. By this time next year, the agency hopes to have 160 Tranche 1 satellites operating and 1,000 spacecraft in total by 2026.
Speaking alongside Guetlein, Tournear said while he’s optimistic that small satellite supply chains are catching up to what SDA needs, the agency’s requirements will continue to grow, likely making industrial base issues an area of long-term concern.
“That demand is going to continue to increase,” he said. “Supply chain is always going to be a problem. It’s always going to cause delays.”
SDA is the first Space Force organization to attempt larger satellite buys as a means to improve resiliency and augment capability, but the service is moving toward that model in other mission areas, including GPS and space domain awareness. That means having excess capacity, with satellites waiting in orbit or on the ground to replace outdated technology or defunct systems.
To succeed in that approach, Guetlein said, the Space Force needs more redundancy and diversity in its supply base.
“We do not have the industrial capacity built today to get after this, and we’re going to have to start getting comfortable with lack of efficiency in the industrial base to start getting excess capacity so that we have something to go to in times of crisis or conflict,” he said.
Courtney Albon is C4ISRNET’s space and emerging technology reporter. She has covered the U.S. military since 2012, with a focus on the Air Force and Space Force. She has reported on some of the Defense Department’s most significant acquisition, budget and policy challenges.
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