> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://readsludge.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Satellite Company Backed by a JD Vance Fund Wins Pentagon Award - URL: https://readsludge.com/2026/09/26/satellite-company-backed-by-a-jd-vance-fund-wins-pentagon-award/ - Published: 2026-09-26T15:58:10.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-26T15:58:10.000Z - Description: Vance holds a stake worth up to $1 million in the fund and could collect millions more if its investments pay off. - Author: Donald Shaw - Tags: JD Vance, Space Force, Narya Capital, True Anomaly 🛰️ Share this on [X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Freadsludge.com%2F2026%2F09%2F26%2Fsatellite-company-backed-by-a-jd-vance-fund-wins-pentagon-award%2F&text=Satellite%20Company%20Backed%20by%20a%20JD%20Vance%20Fund%20Wins%20Pentagon%20Award) and [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/intent/compose?text=Satellite%20Company%20Backed%20by%20a%20JD%20Vance%20Fund%20Wins%20Pentagon%20Award https%3A%2F%2Freadsludge.com%2F2026%2F09%2F26%2Fsatellite-company-backed-by-a-jd-vance-fund-wins-pentagon-award%2F) The Pentagon awarded a satellite surveillance contract last week to a defense startup backed by a venture fund in which Vice President JD Vance holds a stake worth up to $1 million and a right to more than half of the investment profits paid to the fund’s managers. True Anomaly was one of two companies [selected](https://defensescoop.com/2026/09/21/ghostr-satellite-program-contract-awards-northrop-grumman-true-anomaly/) to build prototype satellites for GHOST-R, a Space Force effort to observe and track other spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit. Northrop Grumman received the other award. The value of the contracts has not been disclosed. If True Anomaly’s prototype succeeds, the company could receive more work: Space Systems Command says successful prototypes have a path into its RG-XX surveillance satellite program, and [both companies must submit plans](https://www.airandspaceforces.com/pentagon-picks-2-companies-for-reconnaissance-satellite-demo/) for scaling their spacecraft into a full constellation. Vance [co-founded Narya Capital](https://www.axios.com/2020/01/09/jd-vance-venture-capital-fund-ohio-silicon-valley-peter-thiel) in 2019, with backing from Peter Thiel, and left his position at the firm after winning his Senate seat in 2022, though he retains a substantial financial stake. His latest [annual financial disclosure](https://www.oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/Resources/Now+Available:+The+President%E2%80%99s+and+Vice+President%E2%80%99s+certified+annual+financial+disclosure+reports), which covers 2025, lists an investment worth between $500,001 and $1 million in Narya Capital Fund I, in which he is a general partner. [PitchBook lists True Anomaly](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/fund/16987-60F) among Narya Capital Fund I’s investments, and True Anomaly [named Narya among its investors](https://www.trueanomaly.space/newsroom/our-series-d-fundraise-650m-raised-to-accelerate-space-superiority-at-scale) when it announced a $650 million funding round in April. The disclosure also lists agreements entitling Vance to payments from Narya Capital, GP I, LLC, the general partner of Narya Capital Fund I. Under one, he is entitled to “56.4% for the first $7 million of aggregate carried interest proceeds distributed to the entity, and 55.2% thereafter.” Carried interest is the share of a fund's investment profits paid to its managers. If the LLC receives $7 million in carried interest, Vance's share would be nearly $4 million, plus he would receive more than half of any proceeds above that. Separate agreements described in the disclosure entitle him to 60% of the entity's net fee proceeds and to $525,000 in what the filing calls a "Management Fee Set Off Contribution." ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/19/7f/197f3903-b6b0-45e0-bdbc-e1f7f81d7490/content/images/2026/09/data-src-image-699238a3-9f62-4b84-a79d-1215dc0ea8e8.png) Excerpt from JD Vance's 2025 annual financial disclosure Federal law generally bars executive branch officials from taking part in particular government matters that directly affect their financial interests, but that law do not apply to the president or vice president. Vance is required to disclose his financial interests, but he is not required to sell his Narya stake or recuse himself from matters affecting the fund. There is no evidence that he participated in the selection of True Anomaly for the GHOST-R contract. Neither Vance nor True Anomaly replied to Sludge’s requests for comment. True Anomaly’s new contract is one of several Space Force deals it has secured this year. In April, it was named one of 14 companies eligible to compete for work under the Andromeda satellite surveillance program. Andromeda has a [$1.843 billion ceiling](https://www.militaryaerospace.com/communications/article/55369846/space-systems-command-awards-18-billion-andromeda-contracts-for-space-based-sda) shared among the contractors. Also in April, Space Force [named True Anomaly](https://www.dvidshub.net/news/563528/space-forces-space-based-interceptor-program-counter-growing-speed-and-maneuverability-modern-missile-threats-support-golden) among the companies awarded agreements to develop space-based interceptors for the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile defense project True Anomaly has done military work prior to the second Trump administration, including a $17.4 million Space Force contract secured in 2023. ## Join Our Newsletter Get our free reports delivered to your inbox Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.