WASHINGTON — The Space Development Agency is slowing the pace of launches for the Pentagon's low Earth orbit satellite constellation, stepping back from an earlier plan for frequent deployments as it works through technical issues with spacecraft already in orbit.
Gurpartap "GP" Sandhoo, the agency's acting director, said the next launch of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture's Tranche 1 satellites will not occur until at least May or June, marking a gap of roughly seven months since the last launch in mid-October.
So far, 42 of the 154 satellites planned for Tranche 1 have been launched. Those spacecraft — all part of the Transport Layer — include 21 satellites built by York Space Systems and 21 by Lockheed Martin.
