The US military has published a Request for Information on a federal procurement website signaling interest in deploying a “proliferated cislunar constellation” consisting of an unspecified number of satellites performing an undisclosed mission in the vicinity of the Moon.
The announcement follows statements in recent months from the Space Force’s acquisitions chief for advanced programs, Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, that the military was getting serious about extending its reach to the Moon. The Space Force’s most distant satellites today are in geostationary orbit, some 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) over the equator, collecting routine surveillance and missile warning data.
