announced Monday it has secured a $798 million contract to build missile-tracking satellites for the , cementing its position as a “prime” contractor in the Trump administration’s defense shield.
The Louisville-based aerospace company, a commercial spinoff of , has long been known for its innovative programs, including the Dream Chaser reusable space plane and the Orbital Reef space station.
Using its existing Horizon spacecraft bus, a customizable modular satellite platform, the company plans to provide an additional 18 satellites that will help track hypersonic missiles and next-generation threats.
“This contract demonstrates Sierra Space’s capabilities as a formidable player in American national security,” CEO Dan Jablonsky, who has prioritized winning defense work for the company since taking over in March, said in a news release.
The award marks an expansion of the company’s defense portfolio. In January 2024, the company won a $740 million contract with the , the procurement arm of the U.S. Space Force, to deliver 18 tracking satellites for a Tranche 2 phase.
It completed the task ahead of schedule, which helped it win a second award to build satellites for Accelerated Missile Defense Tranche 3 or AMDT3.
Tranche 3, a more robust constellation of 104 satellites in low Earth orbit, will handle complex tracking tasks across a much wider part of the globe than Tranche 2.
AMDT3 is the latest expansion of the U.S. Space Force’s , popularly known as the “Golden Dome” defense shield.
Hypersonic missiles are very hard to intercept, given their unpredictable flight paths and speeds exceeding Mach 5. China and Russia have focused on offensive capabilities, while the U.S. has focused on countering the weapons.
To speed up deployment and to avoid depending too heavily on any single contractor, the Space Development Agency split up Tranche 3 among several players.
Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and L3Harris Technologies won awards for the initial 72 tracking satellites in the latest constellation.
The Space Development Agency announced a second round for another 36 satellites, known as AMDT3, split between L3Harris and Sierra Space.
Lockheed Martin, which received a $1.1 billion contract in December for the Tranche 3 Tracking Layer, said it will manufacture its 18 satellites at its SmallSat Processing and Delivery Center on its Waterton Canyon campus in the foothills near Littleton.
Sierra Space’s AMDT3 satellites will be built in Louisville, where the company recently completed its “Victory Works” manufacturing plant.
Combined, Colorado will contribute a third of the satellites involved in the latest layer of the Golden Dome shield.
