ND North News

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), who chairs the Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee and co-chairs the Senate Space Force Caucus, visited Vandenberg Space Force Base in California alongside Secretary of the U.S. Air Force Dr. Troy Meink. The visit focused on viewing a group of satellites before their launch, which demonstrates new methods for quickly deploying capabilities into orbit.

During their time at Vandenberg, Cramer and Meink toured the base’s launch and range infrastructure as well as units such as the 18th Space Defense Squadron and the 533rd Training Squadron. Vandenberg’s host unit, Space Launch Delta 30, is responsible for supporting West Coast launches for agencies like the Air Force, Department of Defense, and NASA.

Cramer also visited the payload processing facility operated by the Space Development Agency (SDA) and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), where he observed 21 satellites from SDA’s Tranche 1 Transport Layer being integrated ahead of operations from SDA’s Operations Center – North at Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota and Operations Center – South at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.

“The impressive work being done at Vandenberg points back to the excellence of Grand Forks’ space infrastructure,” Cramer said. “SDA’s first Tranche 1 satellites, controlled from Grand Forks Air Force Base, increase the resilience of our nation’s space-based defense and ensure our warfighters have the capabilities they need. This mission paves the way for future integration of cutting-edge satellite technology. I appreciate our military leadership’s keen attention to leading and securing the space domain.”

The first batch of 21 T1 Transport satellites is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on September 10, with an additional 105 satellites planned for launch in 2026.

In August 2024, Senator Cramer played a role in activating the SDA Operations and Networking Center at Grand Forks Air Force Base. This center manages tracking and transport missions involving Low-Earth Orbit satellites. Since September 2021, GFAFB has been approved to operate future SDA satellite missions after being selected as a central site to monitor satellite activity. Senator Cramer has supported efforts to bring more federal space projects like those managed by SDA to North Dakota.

Additionally, in June 2022, Cramer participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the opening of SDA’s first Ground Operations and Integration Center at GFAFB. The City of Grand Forks was chosen along with GFAFB to manage multiple-layer satellite operations for Tranche 1 of what is known as the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). The PWSA supports rapid tactical data transmission needs and forms part of DOD's move toward a resilient multi-orbit system for missile warning, tracking, and defense.