Space-based airborne-target sensors contract signed with U.S. Space ForceNewsLisa Daigle Assistant Managing Editor Military Embedded SystemsArtist impression of Rocket Lab Flatellite spacecraft inside a Neutron launch vehicle fairing. (Rocket Lab) WASHINGTON. The U.S. Space Force awarded contracts totaling $615 million to Rocket Lab, STR (Systems & Technology Research), and a third unidentified company to develop technologies for a satellite network intended to track aircraft and missile threats from orbit. Rocket Lab announced that its share is a $397 million contract to develop, launch, and operate multiple “flatellites,” which the company describes as a new type of flat satellite design optimized for large constellations that uses space-based sensors and low-latency, high-bandwidth communications links. The Space Force noted that these awards are intended to expand the AMTI program’s supplier base and evaluate different approaches to detecting and tracking airborne targets.