Via Satellite archive photo

Building on its existing network of companies that are helping lay the foundation for a Hybrid Space Architecture (HSA), the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) on Monday said it has awarded additional contracts to new companies to help bring the effort to an operational pilot in 2026 that leverages commercial and government systems.

The new awards were made to Capella Space, Japan’s EdgeCortix, Eutelsat America + OneWeb Technologies, a team of Fairwinds Technologies and AST SpaceMobile, Illumina Computing Group, Lockheed Martin’s Space segment, MapLarge, SES’s Space & Defense business, Skycorp Inc., SkyFi, Ursa Space Systems, and Viasat.

Capella said its contract is worth $4.2 million. The company develops synthetic aperture radar satellites, which will be used to provide low-latency, broad-area imaging capabilities for maritime domain awareness in all weather, it said.

The HSA effort also includes a number of Defense Department entities with the aim being to integrate commercial and military space assets into a resilient mesh network to bring data and communications to the warfighting edge. The Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC), in particular its Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Tracking (TacSRT) pilot program, is partnered with DIU on developing the HSA.

“Together with DIU we’re accelerating the integration of commercial capabilities through HSA demonstrations and pilot efforts to scale quickly into a resilient, multi-orbit architecture supporting the DoD’s vision for seamless, uninterrupted global communications,” Lt. Col. Tim Trimailo, director of SSC’s Commercial Space Office, said in a statement.

Over the next year the commercial vendors, including existing performers under previous DIU contracts, will demonstrate their capabilities in the U.S. Indo-Pacific, European, Central, and Southern Command areas of responsibility, DIU said.

“In addition, the HSA project team will soon activate a live hybrid network for demonstrations, exercise support, and further integration of tactics and warfighting capabilities,” DIU said. “Success with these demonstrations will be moving the department closer to realizing an operational, resilient, and hybrid space architecture.”

The existing HAS awardees include Aalyria Technologies, Amazon’s Web Services and Kuiper businesses, Anduril Technologies, Astranis Space, ATLAS Space Operations, Enveil, Google, Palantir Technologies, Planet Labs’ federal business, Microsoft, and SpiderOak.

SSC’s TacSRT program office credited DIU’s use of rapid acquisition pathways to quickly bring commercial vendors into the HSA effort.

This story was first published by Defense Daily