LOUISVILLE, Colorado – January 16, 2025 – Sierra Space, Inc., a leading commercial aerospace and defense technology company building a platform in space to benefit life on Earth® and protect economic freedom in the Orbital Age®, today announced a significant development milestone for the company’s Resilient GPS (R-GPS) program, marked by the successful completion of the Systems Requirements Review (SRR). The completion of the SRR follows the program’s September launch and marks a significant moment for Sierra Space’s national security program, whose ultimate goal is to benefit civilians and military operations by protecting America’s satellites.
GPS technology relies on satellite infrastructure, supporting everything from ride-sharing apps and civilian food delivery to critical navigation for military and defense operations. However, the increasing sophistication of hostile threats, such as jamming and spoofing, requires advances in GPS resiliency. The U.S. Space Force’s (USSF) R-GPS program aims to address these challenges by integrating proliferating small satellites into the existing GPS architecture. Sierra Space’s expertise in small satellite technology and rapid deployment provides a competitive advantage in achieving this goal.
“The successful Systems Requirements Review of our R-GPS program is a testament to Sierra Space technology and a notable commercial milestone for our DoD customers,” said Erik Daehler, Vice President of Defense, Satellites & Spacecraft Systems at Sierra Space. “We focus on efficiency and speed of development to outpace adversaries. The rapid two-month turnaround time from launch of the R-GPS program to this next step in development is exactly the speed at which commercial space companies should move. We look forward to the next phase of our R-GPS program and putting our satellite technology in orbit.”
Sierra Space announced a “Quick Start” in SeptemberR-GPS contract awardedby the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command to produce design concepts for smaller, more cost-effective GPS satellites. Sierra Space was selected for this inaugural award for its innovative and integrated commercial concepts. The R-GPS program has been expedited under the "Quick Start" authority granted by Congress under Section 229 of the National Defense Authorization Act. This authority allows for rapid response to emerging threats or technologies, enabling the U.S. Space Force to initiate new programs more quickly.
GPS is vital to everything from financial markets to civilian navigation,” said Lt. Col. Justin Deifel, head of the U.S. Space Force’s R-GPS program. “It’s a utility, just like water or electricity, and we need to make sure it’s resilient for civilians and warfighters so they have access to GPS when they need it most.”
Sierra Space’s strategic involvement in the R-GPS program underscores its commitment to delivering innovative, high-impact satellite solutions for defense applications. By leveraging its expertise in small satellite technology, rapid deployment capabilities, and advanced signal processing, Sierra Space aims to play a critical role in strengthening U.S. national security.
About Sierra Space
Sierra Space is a leading commercial space company at the forefront of innovation and commercialization of space in the Orbital Age®, building an end-to-end business and technology platform in space to benefit life on Earth. With over 30 years and 500 missions of space heritage, the company is reinventing both space transportation with Dream Hunter®, the world’s only commercial spacecraft, and the future of space destinations with the company’s inflatable and expandable space station technology. Using commercial business models, the company also provides orbital services to commercial, DoD, and national security organizations, and is expanding manufacturing capacity to meet the needs of constellation programs. Additionally, Sierra Space builds a broad range of systems and subsystems in the areas of solar energy, mechanical and motion control, environmental control, life support, propulsion, and thermal control, and offers numerous space-as-a-service solutions for the new space economy.
Source: Sierra Space
