Space Force Taps Tech7 to Build Cloud Testbed for LEO Data Deluge

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – October 19, 2026 – As the United States Space Force radically transforms its orbital architecture, shifting from a handful of massive, exquisite satellites to hundreds of interconnected nodes in low Earth orbit (LEO), a new and daunting challenge has emerged: an overwhelming deluge of tactical data. To address this critical bottleneck, the service's innovation arm, SpaceWERX, has awarded a Direct-to-Phase-II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to The Tech7 Company. The Colorado Springs-based defense contractor will use the award to develop the Proliferated LEO Agile Testbed Environment, or PLATE, an advanced cloud-based digital sandbox designed to rapidly mature and demonstrate software applications for the military's next-generation space networks.

Work on the highly anticipated project begins this month, marking a pivotal step in the Space Force's effort to modernize its data processing capabilities. By bypassing the traditional Phase I feasibility study, the Direct-to-Phase-II award signals a high degree of confidence in the proposed technology and underscores the urgent need to field operational solutions for the Space Development Agency's (SDA) Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA).

Taming the Proliferated LEO Data Deluge

The transition toward proliferated LEO (pLEO) constellations represents a fundamental paradigm shift in space-based national security. In the near future, hundreds of distributed sensors will generate continuous, low-latency data streams that must be processed, fused, and acted upon in near real-time. Legacy data pipelines, which were historically stove-piped and designed for specific, isolated missions, are fundamentally unequipped to handle the volume, velocity, and variety of information generated by these modern constellations.

PLATE is engineered to bridge this exact gap. Built on Amazon Web Services (AWS) commercial cloud infrastructure, the unclassified prototype testbed will provide a secure, modular environment where algorithms and payload software can be rigorously tested before they are deployed to orbit.

"The hard problem in proliferated LEO is not collecting data — it is processing it, fusing it, trusting it, and acting on it fast enough to matter," said Paul Zetocha, Principal Investigator and Chief Engineer at Tech7. "PLATE is designed from the ground up to be modular, zero-trust, and continuously scalable, with a deliberate path to multi-level security and coalition operations. It will enable the early evaluation and testing of technologies in order to bring optimal capabilities to orbit as quickly as possible."

Managing latency is a critical component of this architecture. While specific technical configurations remain closely guarded, utilizing a major cloud provider like AWS allows the defense sector to leverage commercial advancements in edge computing and localized data processing. By implementing zero-trust security principles—which require continuous verification of user identities and device compliance—the testbed ensures that rapid software iteration does not compromise the integrity of the broader network.

Fast-Tracking Innovation Through Agile Acquisition

The defense acquisition process has historically been criticized for its sluggish pace, often taking years or even decades to move a concept from the drawing board to the battlefield. The Direct-to-Phase-II SBIR mechanism, facilitated by SpaceWERX, is a deliberate countermeasure to this bureaucratic inertia. By allowing mature, high-Technology Readiness Level (TRL) solutions to skip the initial feasibility phase, the military can accelerate the integration of commercial technologies.

SpaceWERX has become a vital conduit for this type of rapid procurement. In fiscal year 2025 alone, the innovation hub awarded more than 300 contracts totaling $510 million. Partnering with Space Systems Command's Commercial Space Office, the organization is actively bridging the gap between industry innovation and urgent defense needs.

"This Direct to Phase II award reflects the confidence our government customers have in Tech7's ability to move quickly from concept to fielded capability," noted Juan Echeverry, President and CEO of the contracting firm. "PLATE gives the Space Force a place to safely try new ideas at the speed the pLEO mission demands. PLATE will build an environment where the best technology — from large primes, small businesses, and non-traditional innovators alike — can be evaluated on its merits and transitioned to operations without introducing operational risk."

The firm's ability to secure this fast-tracked award is deeply rooted in its extensive track record within the space and missile defense sectors. The team is heavily leveraging its existing on-site support to the Space Systems Command (SSC) Missile Warning enterprise. This includes critical work within the Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) Tools, Applications and Processing (TAP) Lab, as well as the SSC OPIR Modeling and Simulation Analysis Center (OMAC). Furthermore, the company recently secured a massive $489 million SBIR Phase III Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, known as TRACE 2.0, demonstrating a proven capacity to manage large-scale government technology integration programs across multiple federal agencies.

Lowering Security Barriers to Accelerate Deployment

One of the most strategic decisions in the architecture of PLATE is its initial deployment as an unclassified testbed. In the highly classified realm of military space operations, stringent security clearances often act as an insurmountable barrier to entry for innovative commercial startups, non-traditional defense vendors, and academic researchers.

By establishing a digital sandbox at the unclassified level, the Space Force is effectively democratizing the development process. Software engineers and data scientists from outside the traditional military-industrial complex can plug their algorithms into the simulated environment, utilizing synthetic data generation to train machine learning models and test sensor fusion techniques without exposing sensitive national security information.

However, this unclassified status is merely the starting point. The contract mandates a clear transition roadmap to an objective multi-level security (MLS) system in a future SBIR Phase III. As the software matures and proves its efficacy, the testbed is expected to migrate to highly secure cloud environments, such as AWS GovCloud, which are certified to host classified workloads up to Impact Level 6 (IL-6). This deliberate pathway ensures that applications developed in the open can eventually be securely integrated into classified operational networks, while also laying the groundwork for seamless data-sharing and coalition operations with allied nations.

Aligning with the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture

The timing of the PLATE initiative is inextricably linked to the aggressive deployment schedule of the Space Development Agency's PWSA. Structured in iterative tranches, the PWSA is rapidly building out a layered network of transport and tracking satellites.

With Tranche 0 having successfully demonstrated basic connectivity and Tranche 1 currently expanding global coverage, the immediate focus is shifting to the immense scale of Tranche 2 and Tranche 3. Tranche 2, with launches expected to begin later this year and continue through 2027, will introduce hundreds of additional satellites, massively increasing the network's capacity and resilience. Tranche 3, slated for 2028 and beyond, represents the fully realized warfighting constellation, requiring highly complex software for advanced sensor fusion, autonomous operations, and tactical data processing.

As the SDA prepares to launch these advanced tranches, the need for a robust, agile testing environment has never been more critical. The cloud-based sandbox will serve as the primary proving ground for the software that will ultimately dictate the success or failure of these multibillion-dollar orbital networks. Furthermore, the ability to rapidly process and disseminate space-derived data is a foundational element of the Department of Defense's broader Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) vision, which seeks to connect sensors from all military branches into a single, unified network. By solving the data processing bottleneck in low Earth orbit, this newly awarded testbed will play a vital role in ensuring that the U.S. military maintains its tactical edge in an increasingly contested space domain.