US Space Force eyes launching five cislunar satellites to boost lunar operations

The U.S. Space Force is considering launching up to five satellites into cislunar space, the region of space extending from Earth out to and including the moon, as soon as 2029, Air & Space Forces Magazine reported.

In a Nov. 2 request for information, a formal call for industry input, the service said it is “notionally interested” in the launches. The magazine said the satellites should be ready to launch by late 2029 and begin initial operations by 2031. Officials have said they are interested in tracking objects in space, as well as navigation and communications, the magazine said.

Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, the Space Force’s portfolio acquisition executive for advanced programs, cited China’s plans for sustained activity on the moon rather than a single mission. “This is about getting capability out soon,” he said in October, according to the magazine. He added that as recently as January he had been told to avoid discussing cislunar plans.

First step toward a bigger fleet

The government notice says the satellites may serve as early vehicles that will inform how the service buys a possible larger constellation later. A proliferated constellation is a large group of satellites that work as one network. The government is asking industry whether it can deliver a quick, low-risk design.

The Department of the Air Force intends to award up to five fixed-price preliminary design study contracts after reviewing industry responses, the notice said. The magazine said funding for initial design work could start as soon as early 2027. In October, Purdy said the service planned two such requests, the first seeking existing commercial technology that could launch by 2029, according to the magazine.

Cislunar space has a volume 1,728 times that of geosynchronous orbit, the magazine noted. That orbit, about 22,000 miles above Earth, is where many communications and weather satellites sit. Spacecraft in the region must also contend with the combined gravity of Earth and the moon, it added.

Why cislunar space matters

Purdy said the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have publicly called cislunar space a warfighting domain, meaning a place where the military expects it may have to fight. The Space Force opened a Cislunar Coordination Office in April to draft a technology road map, according to the magazine. China plans to land astronauts on the moon by 2030, the report said. China has also outlined plans for a satellite network connecting Earth and the moon.

The plan is not final, and the notice says it is not a commitment and does not guarantee a call for proposals or a contract. The payload would be government-provided, and the magazine said the notice does not spell out its type. Futurism reported that the satellites would fly around the moon’s far side as reconnaissance craft, but neither the public listing nor the magazine says so.

Industry responses are due Nov. 24, according to the SAM.gov listing. The Department of the Air Force will consider them before deciding whether to award the design study contracts.

Source: https://interestingengineering.com/military/space-force-cislunar-satellites-2029