Maxar Technologies completed the first Critical Design Review (CDR) of the Maxar 300 series bus for L3Harris Technologies in support of the Space Development Agency's Tranche 1 Tracking Layer (T1TRK) program. The T1TRK program is designed to provide global warning and tracking of conventional and advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems. Maxar's inaugural Maxar 300 series bus is designed for eight or more space vehicles per launch while delivering the demanding low jitter and high power required for the missile defense mission. The comprehensive review examined all the principal elements of the new system, including structural design, power, attitude control and command and data handling.

Maxar will build 16 platforms for the T1TRK program, each about the width of a conventional oven. Those dimensions help the SDA achieve its goals to significantly reduce size, weight, power and cost compared to traditional missile detection satellites. The SDA mission will also adapt and extend Maxar's deep commercial communications satellite experience for new uses.

Designed, engineered and built in-house in California, the Maxar 300 buses are modular platforms that benefit from the company's decades of experience building more than 90 spacecraft for low Earth orbit. Both the platform and Maxar's production capacity are scalable, with the ability to address multiple missions with flexible production rates that meet delivery timelines.