Space Force Eyes Up to Five Seed Satellites for a Future Cislunar Constellation

The Space Force is weighing the launch of as many as five satellites into cislunar space as soon as 2029, a move intended to lay groundwork for a future proliferated constellation operating between Earth and the moon. A Nov. 2 industry notice says the service is seeking a rapid, low-risk solution to inform the acquisition strategy for a Cislunar Space System operating beyond geosynchronous orbit.

The notice follows what Space Force leaders describe as a significant shift in the U.S. military's posture toward cislunar space. Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, who oversees the service's advanced programs acquisition portfolio, said in an Oct. 21 speech at AFCEA's Space Industry Days conference that as recently as January he was told to avoid discussing plans for cislunar systems and strategy. Now, he said, leadership across the Department of Defense is discussing the region as a warfighting domain and pushing for projects to enable operations there.

That momentum is driven in part by China's move toward the moon, a vision that includes lunar landers, a military presence, work to establish positioning, navigation, and timing models within the next 10 years, and an international lunar research station. "They're not planning for a one-off demo," Purdy said. "They are planning for sustained activity. It's in their strategic documents, and they're building the R&D and the S&T and the operational reps and set to get all those missions done."

According to the notice, the Space Force is "notionally interested" in launching a handful of satellites that should be ready to fly by late 2029, with initial operations by 2031. "These vehicles may serve as seed vehicles that will inform the acquisition strategy for a potential future proliferated cislunar constellation," the notice states. The service could award up to five contracts and may begin funding initial design work as soon as early next year.

The notice does not specify payload types, though officials have said they are particularly interested in space domain awareness, PNT, and communications in the cislunar regime. The Space Force wants satellites equipped with propulsion systems that can support station-keeping requirements and orbital transfers, and it is seeking information on AI and compute capabilities to support long-duration autonomous operations. Cislunar space spans hundreds of thousands of kilometers, with a volume 1,728 times that of geosynchronous orbit, and systems there must contend with the combined gravitational characteristics of Earth and the moon as well as unpredictable orbits requiring constant station-keeping. The region also lacks its own PNT grid, a framework offices including the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency are working to establish.

Purdy said the Space Force plans to act quickly and wants to take advantage of commercially available technology. "We're looking for existing commercial or near-commercial means, non-developmental solutions, hardware with actual relevant evidence behind it, software that doesn't need a huge amount of work, and ground systems," he said. "This isn't a four- or five-year science project. This is about getting capability out soon."

The Space Force says it could award up to five contracts and may start funding initial design work as early as the beginning of next year, with the seed vehicles targeted for launch readiness by late 2029 and initial operations by 2031.