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SpaceX won a $2.29 billion contract from the U.S. Space Force to build a network of low Earth orbit satellites designed to function as a high-speed military communications layer in space, the service announced Tuesday.
The program, called the Space Data Network Backbone, will serve as the connective tissue linking military assets in orbit. Starshield satellites — the government-oriented version of SpaceX's Starlink technology — will form the backbone of the system, routing military data between orbital platforms, sensor networks, command nodes, and weapons systems rather than funneling it through ground-based intermediaries. SpaceX secured the award under an Other Transaction Authority agreement — a contracting tool frequently associated with accelerated development — and is obligated to have a fully operational prototype ready no later than the close of 2027.
According to the Space Force, integrating the new backbone with the Space Development Agency's Transport Layer constellation is intended to produce what officials called a single, interoperable framework for moving critical military data. To date, the SDA has contracted for upward of 300 Transport Layer satellites across its first two tranches, splitting that business among several companies. Before moving ahead with Tranche 3, however, the Pentagon overhauled its approach and redirected attention to the Space Data Network, a pivot that critics noted would funnel a disproportionate share of forthcoming satellite purchases to a single vendor.
