WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force awarded Parsons a $55 million contract to develop a ground system for a network of missile-warning satellites in medium Earth orbit.
The bottom system is for a constellation of six satellites that the Space Force plans to field in MEO in 2026 to detect and track hypersonic missiles. Millennium Space Systems and Raytheon Technologies are developing the satellites.
“Parsons will provide integrated ground and operations solutions for the MTC Epoch 1 program,” the Space Systems Command said May 16 in a news release.
MTC is brief for missile warning, missile tracking, missile track custody.
“We’ll collect and seamlessly integrate our MEO data into the present missile warning architecture, providing the warfighter with accurate data to defeat each traditional and emerging missile threats,” said Col. Heather Bogstie, senior materiel leader at Space Systems Command.
She said the Epoch 1 satellites will deliver “high-fidelity overhead persistent infrared solutions able to defending against traditional missile threats, in addition to fast-moving and dim targets like hypersonic ballistic missiles.”
Satellites to launch in 2026
The plan is to launch at the very least six MTC Epoch 1 missile-warning satellites by late 2026, said Lt. Col. Raydon “Ray” Imbo, materiel leader for MEO ground systems.
Although satellites are made by two different vendors, the constellation will likely be managed as a single system, he said.
A MEO space operations center will likely be situated in Colorado. Parsons has previously developed several ground systems for U.S. military satellites.
Thus far, Millennium Space received a contract for the design of the primary satellite and is predicted to be awarded options for 3 more. Raytheon Intelligence & Space was awarded a contract for the design of 1 satellite and options to provide two more.
