Multiple satellites under construction in SSL’s manufacturing facility in Palo Alto, California. Photo: SSL

SSL, a Maxar Technologies company, has secured another U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) contract. SSL has been selected as one of three companies qualified to compete for DOD business under a contract called Small Spacecraft Prototyping Engineering Development and Integration – Space Solutions (SSPEDI). NASA‘s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley manages the contract under an interagency agreement with the DOD’s Space Rapid Capabilities Office.

SSPEDI aims to establish a rapid and flexible method for the DOD’s Space Rapid Capabilities Office to acquire commercially-developed solutions for small to medium spacecraft and related systems from a pool of pre-qualified candidates. As one of the awardees, SSL is eligible to compete for multiple future awards over the five-year ordering period of the contract, up to a cumulative value of $750 million. SSL will closely partner with Maxar’s geospatial insights company, Radiant Solutions. Radiant will study next-generation systems for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and contribute its mission engineering expertise to the company’s solutions.

The company also partners with MDA, DigitalGlobe and Radiant Solutions to provide end-to-end solutions, mission systems engineering, advanced signal and imagery processing, multi-intelligence analytics, and ground systems to help speed decision-making cycles.