Mercury Systems has been awarded a production contract by BlueHalo to provide signal processing technology for the digital beaming platform being developed for the U.S. Space Force’s Satellite Communication Augmentation Resource program. The company will be delivering a field-programmable gate array-based common signal acquisition and digital beamforming tool for BlueHalo’s BADGER technology. BADGER is a transportable ground-based communications system that utilizes re-configurable beamforming tiles to simplify space operations.
Jonathan Moneymaker, CEO of BlueHalo and a previous recipient of the Wash100 Award, stated that this agreement marks BADGER’s first foray into the high-rate manufacturing phase. He emphasized the importance of each milestone achieved in the SCAR program in ensuring that the nation maintains its strategic advantage in space. Moneymaker praised Mercury as a trusted partner whose signal processing hardware plays a crucial role in the exceptional performance of BADGER.
The partnership between Mercury Systems and BlueHalo follows the successful demonstration of integrated backend mission services for the SCAR program at the 2024 Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in April. In addition, in May 2022, BlueHalo secured a $1.4 billion contract from the Space Rapid Capabilities Office to develop a satellite operations capability for the Space Force.