Rocket Lab Receives IDR 7.9 Trillion Contract To Build US Military Satellite Constellation

Illustration of the military satellite constellation with T2TL Beta (photo: dock. Northrop Grumman)

JAKARTA Last December, Pocket Lab was suspected of obtaining a satellite development contract from the Space Development Agency (SDA), a unit belonging to the United States Space Force (USSF).

This allegation emerged after Spacenews found a contract worth US$515 million (Rp7.9 trillion) in a regulatory filing at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). After nearly three weeks of this contract being revealed, SDA finally admitted that they were the contract givers.

On Monday, January 8, SDA confirmed that it asked Rocket Lab to manufacture and operate 18 satellites. Later, all of these satellites will be launched to the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, a military communications satellite network in low-earth orbit.

Rocket Lab will be the third satellite manufacturer for Beta Transport Layer Tranche 2 (T2TL). It is planned that dozens of satellites with ultra high-frequency radio (UHF) will be launched in mid-2027.

"We welcome Rocket Lab as the newest member of our SDA Team and third player in the T2TL-Beta program," said SDA Director Derek Tournear, quoted by VOIdariSpacenews.

Before giving the contract to Rocket Lab, SDA chose Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to produce 72 Beta satellites. The value of this contract is higher than Rocket Lab's contract, which amounts to 1.5 billion US dollars (Rp. 23.2 trillion).

Meanwhile, Rocket Lab said it had started a new era through the partnership. They are committed to developing T2TL Beta with experienced teams, advanced technologies, to strong supply chains.

"The proximity of natural resources acquisition prioritizes speed, schedule certainty, and affordability to bring future generations of space capabilities to the country. We have proven that Rocket Lab is capable of making this happen," said Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck.

Dozens of these satellites will be built in the aircraft development and manufacturing complex located in Long Beach. Rocket Lab will use the facility to assemble, integrate, and test their artificial satellites.