Space Development Agency shaking up how the military buys satellites

With strong DoD and congressional backing, SDA’s budget has soared from $125 million in its first year to about $4.6 billion in the Pentagon’s 2024 funding request, with an additional $23 billion projected from fiscal years 2025 through 2028.

The agency has benefited from the Pentagon’s pivot to low-orbit missile warning and tracking systems to diversify the space architecture and increase resiliency, said analyst Sam Wilson of the Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy.