On April 13, Lockheed Martin announced that it is leading a Next-Generation Space Dominance (NGSD) initiative, a low-cost, modular spacecraft designed to give customers the speed, flexibility and cost efficiency needed to succeed in an increasingly crowded and dynamic orbital environment. The company has invested more than $500M in standardizing small and medium bus architectures and, for NGSD, will continue with significant investments in the bus and rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) technology – translating the company’s own capital into a plug-and-play platform that can be fielded, customized and scaled on a schedule that matches any mission’s urgency.
This satellite platform is offered in two common-core variants, both supporting autonomous RPO and interchangeable payload units for any mission profile. NGSD Vanguard offers the lowest cost solution, delivering the same RPO capability in a compact, high-throughput package ideal for shorter missions or rapidly refreshed constellations. NGSD Sentinel leverages the same common architecture but adds a larger power budget, higher performance propulsion and optional refueling to support enduring missions. Both variants share a common core while providing mission-specific performance through modular payload integration.
“Our customers are not always able to wait years for custom-made satellites. They want proven, production-ready capability that can be delivered on a deadline that aligns with the operational timeline of their mission,” said Tim Lynch, mission strategy and advanced capabilities vice president, Lockheed Martin Space. “NGSD is our answer. It’s a light, lean, agile platform that delivers the performance of a heritage spacecraft while eliminating the bottlenecks that have traditionally slowed the industry.”
“From civil science to national security constellations, NGSD brings the principles of Dynamic Space Operations (DSO) into a scalable, production-ready satellite bus platform for Space Domain Awareness and a wide range of civil, commercial and defense missions,” added Peter Krauss, CEO, Terran Orbital. “It enables faster deployment, reduces risk and delivers a more cost-effective path to orbit at the scale our customers need.”
Source: Lockheed Martin
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By Loren Blinde
April 17, 2026
