NASA Contracts BAE Systems for NOAA’s Lagrange 1 Series Spacecraft
On February 25, 2025, NASA, on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), awarded a significant contract worth $230.6 million to BAE Systems’ Space & Mission Systems Inc. located in Boulder, Colorado. This contract is part of the Lagrange 1 Series project under NOAA’s Space Weather Next program.
The agreement, established under the Rapid Spacecraft Acquisition IV framework, will span from February 2025 to February 2035. BAE Systems is tasked with developing up to two spacecraft, integrating necessary instruments, conducting satellite-level testing, providing flight operation training, and assisting with mission operations from their Boulder facility.
The Space Weather Next program aims to enhance and expand space weather monitoring from stable orbital points, specifically Lagrange Point 1, situated approximately one million miles from Earth. The inaugural spacecraft of the Lagrange 1 Series is anticipated to launch in 2029, delivering real-time solar imagery and wind measurements, thereby ensuring continuity as NOAA’s Space Weather Follow-On Lagrange 1 mission approaches its operational conclusion.
These vital observations are crucial for tracking solar activity and its impact on Earth’s infrastructure, including power grids and communication networks. The spacecraft will provide essential data to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, which issues forecasts and alerts to mitigate disruptions caused by space weather.
Both NASA and NOAA collaboratively manage the Lagrange 1 Series project, with NOAA handling program funding, operations, data management, and dissemination, while NASA and its commercial partners focus on developing the spacecraft and its instruments and providing launch services.
