U.S. Space Force launches Andromeda orbital tracking program
The U.S. Space Force has awarded a ceiling $1.843 billion multiple-award contract to 14 companies under its Andromeda program, the Department of Defense said in a contract announcement released this week.
The awards, issued by Space Systems Command in El Segundo, California, were made on April 7, 2026, as firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts that run through April 8, 2036. The program is designed to support the procurement of space-based systems used to track, identify, and monitor objects in orbit, an increasingly important mission as military and commercial activity in space continues to grow.
The companies selected for the contract vehicle are Anduril Industries, Astranis Space Technologies, BAE Systems Space Mission Systems, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, Intuitive Machines, L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Millennium Space Systems, Northrop Grumman Systems, Quantum Space, Redwire Space Missions, Sierra Space, True Anomaly, and Turion Space.
The Pentagon said the combined contract ceiling is $1,843,000,000, with work to be carried out at the contractors’ respective facilities across the United States. The awards followed a competitive acquisition process that drew 32 offers, indicating strong interest from both established defense primes and newer space companies.
At the time of award, the Space Force obligated $1.4 million in fiscal 2025 research, development, test, and evaluation funds.
The Andromeda program is focused on space domain awareness, a mission set that includes detecting, tracking, and characterizing satellites, debris, and potentially hostile activity in orbit. In military terms, that means building the sensors, satellites, and supporting systems needed to give U.S. operators a clearer picture of what is happening in space.
The contract structure is notable because it uses an IDIQ framework, allowing the government to issue future task orders to any of the selected vendors over the next decade without reopening the full competition each time. That approach is intended to accelerate procurement cycles as new requirements emerge.
According to previously released solicitation documents, the Andromeda vehicle is intended to define, design, and build technologies and space-based systems for the Space Domain Awareness mission area.
By placing both large traditional defense contractors and newer commercial space firms on the same contract, the Space Force appears to be widening its industrial base for future orbital surveillance and monitoring programs.
Several of the selected companies already have a strong footprint in military and commercial space operations. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris, and BAE Systems are long-established suppliers of defense space systems, while firms such as True Anomaly, Turion Space, Anduril, and Astranis represent a newer generation of companies focused on responsive spacecraft development, autonomous operations, and commercial satellite platforms.
Space domain awareness systems typically include satellites equipped with optical, infrared, or radio-frequency sensors that can observe other objects in orbit, along with the ground infrastructure and software required to process that data.
Such systems help operators distinguish between routine orbital movements and behavior that may indicate inspection, interference, or other actions involving U.S. and allied spacecraft.
The award comes as the Space Force continues to expand investment in programs tied to resilient orbital architectures, missile warning, and custody missions, while also increasing its reliance on commercial and nontraditional suppliers.
The inclusion of companies like Intuitive Machines, Redwire, and Sierra Space also underscores how the service is increasingly drawing from the commercial space sector for military mission support.
For the selected contractors, the award positions them to compete for future task orders tied to specific sensing platforms, spacecraft buses, and supporting technologies under the Andromeda umbrella.
For the Space Force, the contract provides a streamlined path to field next-generation orbital awareness capabilities over the next decade, supporting its effort to maintain visibility across an increasingly crowded and strategically important space environment.
