ATLAS Space Operations, a Traverse City-based technology company that provides Ground Software as a Service (GSaaS) solutions for satellite communications purposes, is in the process of getting acquired by a major defense technology firm. The acquisition will play into a potentially revolutionary national defense strategy called the “Golden Dome,” which is aimed at shielding the entirety of the continental United States from potential missile attacks.

Last Friday, the Denver-based York Space Systems issued a press release announcing that its parent company was in the process of buying ATLAS to “strengthen York's position as a fully integrated space solutions provider for national security and commercial missions.” York Space Systems is described in the press release as “a defense technology company transforming how the United States builds and operates space-based capabilities,” and as “a leading provider of proliferated warfighter space solutions.”

The press release noted that, under the acquisition, ATLAS “will play a key role in York's Golden Dome architecture, a next-generation defense solution that unifies spacecraft, software, and ground operations to deliver full-spectrum capabilities across contested environments.” York announced in May that it had been selected by the U.S. Space Force “for a $237 million Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to procure small satellites supporting national security missions,” including for the so-called Golden Dome.

The Golden Dome is a defense initiative brought to the fore by President Donald Trump. According to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation (CACNP), the vision is for “a layered missile defense architecture covering the continental United States. Theoretically, it would combine multiple interceptor systems, space-based sensors, directed energy weapons, and potentially future technologies not yet operationally viable.”

CACNP reports that, among other technologies, Golden Dome would require “constellations of satellite-based tracking and discrimination platforms to detect missile launches in real time.” ATLAS and its systems, which are designed to enable global access to real-time data transmission from space, could play into that piece of the puzzle. Explaining the reasoning behind the ATLAS acquisition, York CEO Dirk Wallinger noted that the Traverse City company had built “one of the most sophisticated and secure ground communications platforms in the industry.”

Per the press release, ATLAS is “the only GSaaS provider based in the United States” and “delivers secure, cloud-native connectivity through its Freedom software platform, which provides a single API access point to a global network of more than 50 antennas in 20+ countries.” That system shifts “the complexity of satellite communications from hardware to software,” allowing for “real-time tasking, automated scheduling, and seamless cloud delivery of mission data.”

The York/ATLAS acquisition is reportedly “pending FCC approval and other customary closing conditions.” Terms of the deal have not been disclosed at this time. However, according to the York press release, ATLAS “will continue to operate independently under its existing brand, serving its diverse portfolio of customers across the space industry.”

ATLAS Space Operations was founded in 2015, and relocated from California to Traverse City in 2017 thanks to the urging and investment of Boomerang Catapult principal Casey Cowell.

Pictured: An ATLAS Space Operations antenna in Alaska, courtesy of ATLAS and York Space Systems.