WASHINGTON — York Space Systems said June 24 that a satellite it built for the U.S. Space Force successfully demonstrated two-way tactical communications using ultra-high-frequency (UHF) links from low Earth orbit. This was part of an experiment to test whether communications now provided by geostationary satellites can be delivered from low orbit.
The spacecraft, known as Dragoon, was launched a year ago under a contract with the Space Development Agency (SDA), the Space Force organization developing the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), a planned network of satellites intended to support military communications and targeting.
York said Dragoon completed five successful demonstrations over a three-month period. The tests included three downlink demonstrations that validated the spacecraft’s ability to transmit data to a stationary government ground terminal and two uplink demonstrations that confirmed most data could be sent from the ground back to the satellite.
UHF communications support mobile users on land, at sea and in the air using relatively small antennas. The signals can penetrate environments with foliage or urban obstacles.
The U.S. military has long depended on dedicated UHF communications satellites in geostationary orbit. The Dragoon experiment is designed to test whether those types of communications services can be provided from smaller satellites operating much closer to Earth.
The mission is also serving as the first in-orbit demonstration of York’s larger LX-class spacecraft platform. UHF communications payloads typically require significant power generation and antenna resources, making the tests an early validation of the platform’s ability to support more demanding military payloads.
Denver-based York is one of the largest suppliers to SDA, with contracts to build dozens of satellites for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.
Melanie Preisser, York’s general manager and executive vice president, said the ability to establish bi-directional tactical communications from a low Earth orbit platform is a “meaningful addition to York’s mission set portfolio.”
Preisser said Dragoon will continue demonstrations for another quarter as the company evaluates additional capabilities.
