<div id="readability-page-1">Dec 19 (Reuters) - The Space Development Agency, part of the U.S. Space Force, said on Friday it has reached agreements with four defense suppliers to ‌build 72 satellites, worth about $3.5 billion collectively. The agency said ​Lockheed Martin, L3Harris Technologies, Northrop Grumman, and ‍Rocket Lab USA have signed ⁠fixed-priced contracts ⁠for 18 space vehicles each. The infrared satellites, which will ‌be used for missile ​warning, tracking and defense systems, are expected to be launched into low-earth ⁠orbit in 2029. &#34;The ‍addition of ​these satellites will achieve near-continuous global coverage for missile warning and tracking, along ‍with payloads capable of generating fire control quality tracks for missile defense,&#34; said the agency's Acting Director Gurpartap Sandhoo. These satellites belong to Tranche-3 and support the space ​agency's ‍objective of launching a new tranche every two years to refresh its satellite ​architecture with updated technology. In September, the first Tranche-1 space vehicle, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The agency plans to include a total of 154 ​operational space vehicles in Tranche-1, which will be ready for initial warfighting capability in 2027. (Reporting by Aishwarya ‍Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)</div>

RKLB

洛克希德馬丁

諾斯羅普·格魯曼

美國太空發展局，隸屬於美國太空部隊，已向洛克希德·馬丁、L3Harris Technologies、諾斯羅普·格魯曼和 Rocket Lab USA 下達了一項價值 35 億美元的 72 顆衞星訂單。這些衞星是 Tranche-3 的一部分，將用於導彈預警、跟蹤和防禦系統，預計將在 2029 年發射入低地軌道

美國空間發展局下達了價值 35 億美元的訂單，用於採購 72 顆衞星