Peraton

Peraton is a Herndon, Virginia-based defense technology and government IT services company formed in 2017 when Veritas Capital acquired Harris Corporation's government IT business and subsequently acquired additional capabilities — operating as a major provider of mission-critical technology solutions across space, intelligence, defense, and civilian federal agency customers with approximately $7 billion in annual revenue and around 22,000 employees.

Peraton's space-related operations are substantial: the company operates and maintains satellite ground station networks and mission control infrastructure for US government space programs, including deep space communications infrastructure.

A landmark contract is Peraton's role as prime contractor for NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) sustainment and operations — the global network of large-dish ground stations at Goldstone (California), Madrid (Spain), and Canberra (Australia) that provide radio communication links with interplanetary spacecraft from NASA's Voyager probes at the outer edges of the solar system to Mars orbiters, landers, and the James Webb Space Telescope. Maintaining DSN operations requires 24/7 scheduling, antenna maintenance, software systems management, and spectrum coordination.

Beyond the DSN, Peraton supports satellite mission operations for intelligence community and DoD space programs — including ground system operations, data downlink processing, and mission planning software — as well as communications systems that aggregate and distribute satellite data from reconnaissance and surveillance assets.

Cyber and IT services represent Peraton's largest revenue streams: the company provides classified cybersecurity operations, software development, and enterprise IT services to defense agencies and intelligence community customers. Space and cyber intersect in Peraton's portfolio through satellite ground system cybersecurity, space system survivability assessment, and electronic warfare support.

Peraton was formed through aggressive acquisition by Veritas Capital: the Harris IT business was the founding entity, combined with acquisitions including Northrop Grumman's IT and mission services business in 2021 for $3.4 billion — creating one of the largest pure-play government IT and mission services contractors. Competitors include Leidos, SAIC, Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics Information Technology, and Maximus.