Viasat to Orchestrate Golden Dome Satellite Network Data Traffic

"The MOC will bring together mission integration, network operations, and data transport management across a growing multi-vendor architecture," the Space Systems Command said in its release.

Viasat wins up to $450 million contract to design, field and scale the MOC

The Space Force, working "in partnership" with the Pentagon's Golden Dome office, has selected Viasat to build a Mission Operations Center (MOC) that will manage traffic across the nascent Space Data Network (SDN) Backbone, Space Systems Command (SSC) announced. The award is an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with a ceiling of $450 million. Under the contract, Viasat "will serve as the network and mission system integration partner as SSC expands its open‑architecture ecosystem across multiple space‑segment providers," according to the SSC press release.

The MOC is the orchestration hub for the SDN Backbone built by SpaceX

The MOC will act as the central network orchestration hub for the SDN Backbone, described in the release as a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites being built by SpaceX to provide high‑speed, low‑latency communications. SSC framed the backbone as the "glue" that connects the Space Data Network's broader architecture — linking disparate military, and eventually commercial, space‑based sensor and communications satellites with decision‑makers and weapons platforms. SSC also said the network's near‑term focus will be on supporting the Trump administration's Golden Dome missile defense initiative.

How orchestration will work: autonomous routing, hops, and resilience

SSC describes the orchestration capability the MOC will provide as enabling autonomous shifts of data among multiple satellite constellations and the ground stations that support them. If transmission slows because of bandwidth congestion or adversary jamming, data can be rerouted — or made to "hop" — from one constellation to another and down to alternative ground stations. The release compared the MOC to a "modern‑day, software‑run equivalent to an old‑time telephone exchange" where operators once patched calls by hand and troubleshooted failures.

Three stated functions: multi‑vendor orchestration, joint connectivity, and real‑time routing

• Multi‑Vendor Orchestration: The MOC will "integrate disparate satellite systems into a unified communications network," SSC said, bringing together different space‑segment providers under a single operational layer.
• Multi‑Domain Joint Connectivity: SSC said the center will support "high‑speed, low‑latency, and cyber‑resilient data paths for users across air, land, sea, and space," enabling cross‑domain access to the SDN Backbone.
• Real‑Time Priority Routing: The MOC will enable "dynamic data management and routing based on mission priorities through network operations infrastructure," allowing operations to prioritize and move information in real time.

What this means for Space Systems Command, the Golden Dome office, and Viasat

• Space Systems Command: SSC has established the mission operations layer the release says is "needed to integrate the diverse space data transport and space exchange systems being developed across related efforts," centralizing integration and operations for the SDN Backbone.
• The Golden Dome office: With the SDN Backbone's near‑term focus on supporting the Golden Dome missile defense initiative, the MOC is positioned to provide the data transport and routing layer promised to link sensors, communications satellites, and weapons platforms.
• Viasat: As the chosen network and mission system integration partner, Viasat is tasked to "design, field, and scale" the center and to knit together an open‑architecture ecosystem spanning multiple space‑segment providers.

SSC quoted Lt. Col. Alexa Eggert, materiel leader for the SDN Backbone program at SSC’s Space Based Sensing and Targeting Portfolio Acquisition Executive office: "By bringing the systems together in one place, it positions us to deliver a more integrated mission capability across multiple constellations and systems." The contract award and SSC's framing make clear the Pentagon is moving from concept toward concrete infrastructure: a software‑driven operations center intended to choreograph multiple constellations, prioritize mission traffic, and provide resiliency when links degrade.

The award marks a defined step in fielding the SDN Backbone to support Golden Dome, with Viasat responsible for turning an open‑architecture concept into a functioning mission operations layer under a contract capped at $450 million.

Original reporting: DoD taps Viasat to field operations ‘center’ for Golden Dome satellite data relay network — Breaking Defense