WASHINGTON — Freedom Space Technologies announced it is partnering with defense contractor Omni Federal to develop a next-generation ground system for U.S. Space Force missile-warning satellites.
A subsidiary of Atlas Space Operations, Freedom Space provides a cloud-based software platform used to manage satellite ground systems.
Omni Federal was one of four companies that won $9.7 million contracts from the U.S. Space Force to develop competing ground systems for a project known as FORGE C2 — or Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution Command and Control.
The Space Force will assess the designs in 2025 and select one or more to continue further development.
FORGE C2 aims to overhaul the Space Force’s legacy missile-warning satellites’ command and control systems with a unified modern platform. The Space Force wants to modernize the ground systems that control existing and future geostationary and polar orbit satellites that provide early warning of missile launches anywhere in the world.
The agreement with Omni Federal is the first contract win for Colorado-based Freedom Space, formed by Atlas Space Operations to focus on national security programs.
Atlas Space Operations, a seven-year-old startup based in Michigan, uses a network management platform to connect satellite antennas and create a federated network, so unused capacity from one ground station can be leveraged by other customers in the network.
John Williams, CEO of Atlas Space Operations, said the company now has 50 antennas in its network, located around the world.
Williams, a former Viasat executive, said the selection of the Freedom Space platform for the FORGE program was “a validation of our investment” in a government-focused subsidiary.
In an interview with SpaceNews, Williams said Atlas Space is bringing in new investors and plans to complete a C series…
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