Space Development Agencys first satellite launch hailed as model

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. military’s ambitious plan to deploy a mega-constellation of satellites took a key step forward with the launch of the Space Development Agency’s first 10 satellites. Three days after the April 2 launch, the director of the agency Derek Tournear said SDA has established communication with all 10 satellites. “That’s pretty amazing,” he said on Wednesday at the Mitchell Institute Spacepower Security Forum. This was the first launch of a projected mesh network of hundreds of small satellites in low Earth orbit known as the proliferated warfighter space architecture. It includes a Transport Layer of interconnected…