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Orange County-based aerospace firms Terran Orbital Corp. and Turion Space are among a dozen companies selected by the U.S. Space Force to compete for spacecraft contracts under a $237 million program.
Officials at Space Force, created in 2019, said May 1 they plan to make use of commercially developed spacecraft and industry partnerships “to accelerate the development of cutting-edge space technologies over the next decade.”
The U.S. military branch is “focused solely on pursuing superiority in the space domain.”
Spacecraft Building Competition
The 12 companies selected to compete for the Space Force 10-year contract are “in the pool now to compete for these projects,” a person familiar with the process told the Business Journal. The $237 million is an overall cap on the funds, and smaller contracts will be assigned from it.
The first order to develop an unmanned craft under the STEP 2.0 program is slated for January 2026.
Irvine-based Terran Orbital, which is owned by Lockheed Martin, makes small satellites primarily serving the aerospace and defense industries.
Terran Orbital said it will compete for orders to develop and deliver modular small-satellite frameworks—called buses—capable of hosting a wide range of experimental payloads, from sensors to cutting-edge communications and navigation systems.
These spacecrafts, typically the size of a microwave or small refrigerator, serve as adaptable platforms to carry out critical technology demonstrations that will inform future military space architectures, Terran said.
“This award underscores our commitment to advancing national security through innovative, flight-proven small satellite solutions,” said Peter Krauss, president and chief executive officer of Terran Orbital.
Turion: Satellites, Space Cleaning
Also in the running for the Space Force contract awards is Turion, an Irvine-based company that builds an array of satellites.
Turion had raised $26.5 million in venture capital as of December, when the value of its contracts with the government topped $50 million, according to co-founder and CEO Ryan Westerdahl.
Veterans Ventures Capital, along with Forward Deployed VC, Aurelia Foundry, Y-Combinator and others invested $15 million in the oversubscribed Series A financing, Turion said earlier this month.
It already boasts a $1.9 million U.S. Space Force contract to develop ways to clean up space debris, which now number an estimated 1 million pieces.
Turion’s other goals include mining asteroids for precious metals. Other companies competing for the contract include Lockheed Martin, General Atomics, Blue Canyon Technologies, Loft Orbital, Spire Global Subsidiary, York Space Systems and several emerging space technology providers. n