BAE Systems Secures $230.6 Million NASA Contract for Space Weather Satellites

BAE Systems has been awarded a $230.6 million contract by NASA to develop spacecraft for NOAA's Lagrange 1 Series space weather project. The firm-fixed-price agreement, announced on February 21, tasks BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems with building Lagrange 1 Series spacecraft, integrating instruments, and supporting flight operations. Work is slated to begin this month in Boulder, Colorado, and continue through January 2034. The Lagrange 1 Series, a component of NOAA's Space Weather Next program, aims to ensure continuous coronal imagery and solar wind measurements. Launches are anticipated in 2029 and 2032. BAE Systems is also involved in the Space Weather Follow On Lagrange 1 mission, scheduled for launch no earlier than September on NASA's Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe. Observations of the sun and near-Earth space are crucial for providing alerts of extreme space weather events, aiding in the mitigation of impacts on infrastructure such as power grids, air travel, and communication systems. NASA and NOAA will collaborate on the development, launch, and operation of the Lagrange 1 Series satellites, with NOAA managing operations and data dissemination, and NASA overseeing spacecraft and instrument construction. The contract was awarded under NASA's Rapid Spacecraft Acquisition IV contract.