Astranis has been awarded a contract as a prime contractor for the first phase of the U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC) Protected Tactical Satellite Communications (SATCOM) Global (PTS-G) program, affirming its role as a disruptor to the geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO) market through rapidly deployable, jam-resistant, small communications satellites. The PTS-G program, under the SSC Military Communications and Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Program Executive Office, will ensure that America’s warfighters maintain tactical communications even in the most contested environments.

The initial six-month contract will mature the system design for PTS-G culminating with a system design review and demonstrations of PTS-G hardware in a lab environment. The Astranis PTS-G program is based on a common Astranis spacecraft design used for commercial missions and leverages Astranis’s focused technical investment in small GEO communications systems going back nearly a decade. Astranis’s selection for PTS-G validates the strategic role of smaller, more agile assets in building a resilient and responsive space-based architecture for national defense.

Astranis is the only company in the world operating this class of small GEO satellites in geostationary orbit. We’ve already deployed five MicroGEO satellites and have another five in production. This new contract shows that our commercial innovation can directly support the Department of Defense (DoD).

From its inception, the Astranis MicroGEO architecture was built as a true dual-use product, capable of serving both commercial and defense customers. Astranis has an existing production line for this class of geostationary satellite, enabling rapid deployment as the Space Force aims to diversify its communications infrastructure to ensure resilient, secure communications.