Terran Orbital, the small satellite specialist, has announced the formation of a new Optical Solutions Group (OSG) focused on electro-optical (EO) satellite imaging products.
By Alun Williams
The new group will concentrate on development of new EO products and provide custom-made systems, for Earth Observation and Space Domain Awareness.
Alex Pertica Based in Boca Raton, Florida, the company has recruited industry veteran and optical solutions expert Alex Pertica to lead the OSG.
Pertica joins Terran Orbital following a 36-year career at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).
He most recently served as LLNL's Deputy Leader of the Space Science and Security Program where he managed a $50m portfolio of Space Science and Space National Security related projects.
Tranche 0 Terran has also just announced the delivery of the final of ten satellite buses to prime contractor Lockheed Martin in support of the Space Development Agency's (SDA) Tranche 0 Transport Layer.
According to the company, the delivery marks the company's shift from lower quantity, mission-unique satellites to robust production. Terran Orbital delivered the satellite buses at a rate greater than one per week over an approximately six-week period, it highlighted.
The company writes:
"The Tranche 0 constellation, operating in low-Earth Orbit, will provide secure high-bandwidth, low-latency data links to enable the initial warfighting capability of the SDA's National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA). This beyond-line-of-sight tracking, targeting, and communications will dramatically extend U.S. warfighting options and allow additional coalition and allied partners to eventually bring their capabilities into the network."
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