Space Force ponders shakeup to LEO satellite strategy, potentially hiring SpaceX for data relay

Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman testifies during a budget hearing with the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee in Washington, D.C., June 26, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Eric Dietrich)

By Theresa Hitchens • Jun 28, 2025

Space Force chief Gen. Chance Saltzman has confirmed that the service is reconsidering the future of the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) multi-billion-dollar Transport Layer, a network of data relay satellites to rapidly transmit targeting data from US military sensors to shooters.

Speaking on June 26 at a hearing of the Senate Appropriation Committee’s defense subcommittee (SAC-D), Saltzman said, “Now we have to look at what are the other avenues to deliver, potentially, a commercial, proliferated, low Earth orbit constellation. And so we are simply looking at alternatives as we look to the future as to what’s the best way to scale this [the Transport Layer] up to the larger requirements for data transport.”

And while Saltzman did not mention any potential vendors by name, word that the Transport Layer may be terminated in favor of a contract with SpaceX has been circulating on Capitol Hill for months — with information leaking out slowly in dribs and drabs.