Millennium Space Systems completes CDR for Missile Track Custody Space Vehicle

Millennium Space Systems completes CDR for Missile Track Custody Space Vehicle
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 28, 2023

Millennium Space Systems, a subsidiary of aerospace giant Boeing [NYSE: BA], has reached a significant milestone in the development of the Missile Track Custody (MTC) space vehicle with the successful completion of the Critical Design Review (CDR), a crucial phase in the project, less than a year after receiving the green light to proceed.

The MTC project is a cornerstone of the United States' missile defense strategy. Col. Heather Bogstie, senior materiel leader for the SSC Space Sensing Resilient Missile Warning, Missile Tracking, Missile Defense (MW/MT/MD) program office, emphasized the importance of this initiative.

"The missile warning and defense architecture must be rapidly fielded, resilient in a wartime environment and ready to defend the Nation and our Allies," Bogstie stated. "MTC is a key element of that architecture, proving out the ability to deliver a resilient constellation with speed."

Millennium Space Systems is now set to deliver six space vehicles for MTC Epoch 1. This delivery includes the original contract for two vehicles, supplemented by an expanded Other Transaction Authority (OTA) for vehicles four through six.

Jason Kim, CEO of Millennium Space Systems, highlighted the urgency of the project: "We're making the need for speed a reality. MTC is a critical capability in the nation's resilient, layered missile warning and defense architecture, and schedule is paramount. We are bringing all of Millennium's experience moving with speed to meet operational imperatives."

The rapid pace of the project is notable. The full space segment review of the program, encompassing a complete space vehicle and constellation design, was completed in under five months following the Preliminary Design Review (PDR), which itself was finished in just four months.

Lindsay Dewald, deputy program manager of Millennium Space Systems' MTC program, explained the accelerated timeline. "This timeline really required us to look at traditional CDR requirements and decide what works and what doesn't," Dewald said. "And we changed the paradigm, balancing between doing things differently while taking advantage of a mature, flight-proven spacecraft baseline architecture from multiple on-orbit constellations. Our vertical integration also brings significant prior investments and an active production line."

The use of digital engineering has been central to the program's success. The MTC space vehicle CDR builds on the digital, model-based PDR of the MTC Mission Payload CDR, completed in November 2022. The emphasis on digital engineering has streamlined the generation and analysis of data products as the space vehicle design matured, and improved communication with suppliers and customers.

Looking ahead to 2024, the focus is on high-fidelity testing before moving to vehicle builds. "We are now full steam ahead on the production of six space vehicles and getting into integration and test," Dewald commented. "Our focus in 2024 is performing high-fidelity testing before we hit the floor with vehicle builds, reducing risks on the first vehicle, which further reduces risks for the subsequent five vehicles."