Two thousand kilograms of classified military payload sit at the center of a new Pentagon push to establish permanent operational reach between Earth and the Moon.
Defence-blog.com reported that the Department of the Air Force has solicited industrial proposals for the construction and operation of up to five cislunar spacecraft, with the inaugural launch slated for late 2029.
Responses to the federal contracting notice are due by noon on Nov. 24, limited to no more than 15 pages. Following reviews, the department intends to award up to five firm-fixed-price preliminary design study contracts, directing bidding companies to assume design work starts between January and March 2027.
Military Hardware for Deep Space
A payload limit of two metric tons and a requirement for U.S. National Security Agency Type 1 encryption point toward fully operational military satellites carrying sensitive equipment. This marks a clear expansion beyond the smaller experimental craft the U.S. Air Force has flown in the region to date.
The 10-page memo outlines strict physical parameters for each vehicle. Every spacecraft must host a payload up to 3 meters long and 1 meter in height and width, supplying at least 1 kilowatt of power, with 3 kilowatts set as the ultimate goal.
Operational lifespans must reach a minimum of three years, backed by sufficient propellant and consumables to sustain five years in orbit. The flight paths reach well beyond typical lunar routes, covering Earth-Moon transfers, libration point orbits, resonant orbits, and low-energy transfer trajectories out to the Sun-Earth L1 and L2 points.
Spacecraft Must Maintain Autonomous Operations for 72 Hours
The military wants spacecraft capable of maintaining themselves in deep space, demanding autonomous operation for at least 72 hours alongside a reliable safe mode. Thrusters must be capable of pushing in any direction to handle orbit changes and station keeping.
The department’s memo asks defense contractors about their experience using Super Intelligence to manage autonomous space vehicle operations over extended durations, alongside the necessary onboard computing power.
To keep development rapid and low-risk, the department requires a commercial or off-the-shelf design that has already demonstrated capability in the cislunar environment. The spacecraft bus must be an existing design flown within the past three years or one scheduled to complete full assembly and testing within 24 months.
Expanding Cislunar Infrastructure
Launch operations will rely on government-provided National Security Space Launch rockets, with the department seeking compact bus designs, innovative stacking techniques, and fairing diagrams to fit multiple spacecraft onto a single vehicle.
The U.S. military currently operates no permanent satellites in the cislunar region, limiting past activities to research. The Air Force Research Laboratory launched the Oracle program in 2022—originally termed the Cislunar Highway Patrol System—awarding Colorado-based company Advanced Space a $72 million contract to track objects near the Moon, as reported by Aviation Week and Air & Space Forces Magazine.
The U.S. Space Force established a Cislunar Coordination Office in April to draft a technology roadmap, complemented by a separate $30 million research effort named Cislunar Prime, with research contracts planned for spring 2027 across object tracking, communications, and navigation.
Companies that skip the current procurement round risk losing the ability to participate in subsequent program acquisitions, according to the departmental memo.
Responses are due Nov. 24, and the department intends to award up to five firm-fixed-price preliminary design study contracts.
