Shruti Gurudanti, Rose Law Group partner and leader of the firm’s space law practice, comments on launch of military satellite aboard SpaceX rideshare

_{Dragoon mission built by York Space Systems for the Space Development Agency Credit: York Space Systems}

By Sandra Erwin | Space News

A U.S. military satellite built by York Space Systems launched to orbit June 23 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

The spacecraft, named Dragoon, lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-14 mission — a rideshare flight carrying dozens of small satellites for government and commercial customers.

Dragoon is the first of 12 satellites York is building under a contract with the Space Development Agency (SDA), an arm of the Space Force tasked with deploying the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, or PWSA. This ambitious program envisions hundreds of interconnected satellites to enable resilient global missile tracking, targeting, and secure communications for military operations.

In a statement, York said Dragoon is designed to “demonstrate secure connectivity to warfighter platforms for targeting, missile warning, and tracking of advanced missile threats.”

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“The successful York Space rideshare launch proves collaborative launch models help democratize access to space.” -Shruti Gurudanti, Rose Law Group partner and leader of the firm’s space law practice