SDA fourth Tranche 1 Transport orbital-plane launch

A SpaceX Falcon 9 delivered 21 Northrop Grumman-built Tranche 1 Transport satellites to low Earth orbit for the Space Development Agency, completing the constellation's fourth orbital plane.

The successful Vandenberg launch expanded the U.S. Space Force's proliferated low-Earth-orbit architecture to 84 on-orbit Tranche 1 space vehicles. The transport satellites are designed to provide secure, low-latency, beyond-line-of-sight data links supporting missile tracking and other warfighter missions.

Headline metrics

Satellites delivered	21	Northrop Grumman-built Tranche 1 Transport space vehicles.
Tranche 1 vehicles on orbit	84
Initial warfighting capability	2027	Target stated by the Space Development Agency.

Highlights

Industrial deliveryThe mission placed a 21-satellite production batch built by Northrop Grumman into low Earth orbit.
Mission purposeThe satellites will support secure, resilient, low-latency data transport and beyond-line-of-sight tactical communications.
Launch campaignThis was the fourth Tranche 1 orbital plane delivered through the National Security Space Launch program.

Resources

Space Development Agency mission releasesda.mil
Northrop Grumman PWSA media kitnorthropgrumman.com