Space Force Awards Viasat SDN Mission Operations Contract With $450M Ceiling

The U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command (SSC) has awarded Viasat, Inc. a competitive indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a ceiling of $450 million to design, field, and scale the Space Data Network Backbone (SDN-B) Mission Operations Center (MOC). The initial task order is valued at $115 million. Announced in November 2026, the award establishes a mission operations layer intended to integrate mission systems, network operations, and data transport management across a growing, multi-provider architecture. The MOC is intended to support SSC’s Space-Based Sensing and Targeting (SBST) portfolio and broader modernization priorities, including the Golden Dome missile defense architecture.

The MOC is a central integration and orchestration component of the SDN Backbone, rather than a standalone satellite constellation. The broader Space Data Network is expected to combine a multi-orbit architecture with military-owned and commercial payloads developed by multiple providers, supplying high-speed data transport and tactical communications to the joint force. According to SSC, the center will bring together “mission integration, network operations, and data transport management across a growing multi-vendor architecture,” helping the SBST portfolio field an operationally integrated capability. Lt. Col. Alexa Eggert, materiel leader for the SBST SDN Backbone program, described the center as “the mission operations layer needed to integrate the diverse space data transport and space exchange systems being developed across related efforts.”

The contract has important implications for companies seeking work in space-based communications and digital infrastructure, but it is not itself evidence of an open follow-on solicitation. Viasat’s role as network and mission-system integration partner could create subcontracting or complementary work in interoperable satellite communications, ground systems, network management, resilient connectivity, cybersecurity, and mission-system integration. The reported sources do not identify an open solicitation, contract number, procurement contact, or MOC construction location. Potential suppliers should therefore treat related opportunities as prospective and monitor official announcements rather than assuming an active bid is available.

The award sits within a wider set of SDN development activities. Earlier in 2026, the Pentagon awarded SpaceX a $2.3 billion contract to deliver a fully operational SDN Backbone prototype by the end of 2027. Separately, the Space Force selected Amazon LEO for Government, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Rocket Lab, and York Space Systems for demonstrations of ground-to-space and space-to-space data transport across vendor systems and development and fielding of space exchange point payloads. The Space Force has also budgeted $4.5 billion for SDN in FY2027, indicating the scale of the program context, though that budget figure is not the value of Viasat’s contract. These parallel efforts point to an ecosystem in which interoperability and cross-provider data transport will be central procurement concerns.

• Award structure: SSC issued Viasat a competitive IDIQ contract with a $450 million ceiling; the initial task order is $115 million.
• Scope: Viasat will design, field, and scale the SDN Backbone Mission Operations Center, serving as a network and mission-system integration partner.
• Operational purpose: The MOC is intended to integrate mission systems, network operations, and data transport across multiple providers and constellations.
• Mission alignment: The center supports SSC’s Space-Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio and modernization priorities that include Golden Dome.
• Program context: The Space Force budgeted $4.5 billion for SDN in FY2027; this is broader program context, not the Viasat award amount.
• Related backbone effort: The Pentagon awarded SpaceX $2.3 billion for an SDN Backbone prototype intended to be fully operational by the end of 2027.
• Demonstration participants: The Space Force selected Amazon LEO for Government, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Rocket Lab, and York Space Systems for cross-vendor transport demonstrations and space exchange point payload work.
• Potential supplier lanes: Firms can assess capabilities in interoperable satellite communications, ground infrastructure, routing and network management, cyber-resilient connectivity, and mission integration.
• Capture caution: The reporting identifies no open follow-on solicitation, procurement contact, or contract number; prospective subcontracting and related work should not be treated as an active bid.
• Site information: The sources did not disclose where the MOC will be built, leaving location-specific subcontracting and workforce planning details unknown.