https://spacewatch.global/tag/darpa/ AN INDEPENDENT PERSPECTIVE ON SPACE Tue, 05 May 2026 12:17:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://spacewatch.global/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SpaceWatchGlobal-Sign-90x90.png https://spacewatch.global/tag/darpa/ 32 32 https://spacewatch.global/2026/05/geoint-2026-foreword-day-mass-to-orbit-ai-at-scale-and-a-us-industrial-bet/ Mon, 04 May 2026 09:30:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=73519 From NGA's call to industry to DARPA's warning of a finite mass-to-orbit window, GEOINT 2026 Foreword Day delivered one message: scale, speed, trust.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/05/geoint-2026-foreword-day-ai-battlefield-solutions-mountain-sunrise/ Sun, 03 May 2026 18:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=73507 Torsten Kriening reports solo from the Gaylord Rockies in Aurora, Colorado for Foreword Day at USGIF GEOINT 2026. Discover what to expect from this year's symposium - AI maturation, battlefield-proven solutions, allied collaboration, and keynotes from NGA's Brett Markham and DARPA's Stephen Winchell.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2025/10/voyager-acquires-exoterra-bolstering-american-propulsion-capabilities/ Wed, 29 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=68620 Voyager Technologies has acquired ExoTerra Resource, a developer of electric propulsion systems. ExoTerra’s proprietary technology delivers precise maneuvering, extended lifetimes and high efficiency delta-V – essential for spacecraft across national defense architecture layers that must be able to reposition, avoid threats and sustain mission advantage.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2025/09/ionq-establishes-ionq-federal-for-u-s-governments-demand-for-quantum-advantage/ Mon, 15 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=67730 IonQ has established IonQ Federal towards integrating its proprietary technologies to serve the U.S. government and its allies. Robert Cardillo has also been appointed as Executive Chairman of IonQ Federal and will remain a member of the Company’s Board of Directors]]> https://spacewatch.global/2025/05/darpa-power-program-sets-distance-record-for-power-beaming/ Mon, 19 May 2025 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=65348 The DARPA-led POWER program successfully delivered more than 800 watts of power during a 30-second transmission from a laser 8.6 kilometers away, achieving several new records for transmitting power over distance. Over the course of the test campaign, the program transferred more than a megajoule of energy.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2024/11/nrl-has-developed-robotics-capable-of-servicing-satellites/ Tue, 19 Nov 2024 07:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=62345 The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Naval Center for Space Technology (NCST) in partnership with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has completed the development of a spaceflight-qualified robotics suite capable of servicing satellites in orbit.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2024/09/riverside-research-and-northstar-partner-on-sda-capabilities/ Wed, 18 Sep 2024 06:00:22 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=61136 Riverside Research, a national security nonprofit supporting the U.S. government, has selected NorthStar Earth & Space Systems to team on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Space-WATCH program to improve and enhance capabilities to detect threats in space from unexpected events or maneuvers (“anomalies”).]]> https://spacewatch.global/2024/07/scout-space-selected-to-join-darpas-bridges-consortium/ Wed, 10 Jul 2024 06:00:10 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=56020 Scout Space Inc. has announced its selection to join the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Bringing Classified Innovation to Defense and Government Systems (BRIDGES) Consortium. DARPA selected Scout Space based on the company’s proposal outlining its approach to collaborating on "Advancing Autonomous In-Space Threat Response for Space Superiority."]]> https://spacewatch.global/2024/04/phase-four-wins-darpa-contract-for-air-breathing-propulsion/ Tue, 09 Apr 2024 06:00:42 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=54519 Phase Four has won a $14.9M contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to deliver an "air-breathing" EP system to enable extended satellite operations in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO), at altitudes as low as 90-450km.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2024/03/firefly-aerospace-to-demonstrate-launch-and-on-orbit-services/ Fri, 22 Mar 2024 07:00:18 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=54277 Firefly Aerospace, Inc. has signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to conduct a trade study on its capabilities to rapidly launch Firefly's Elytra vehicles and support missions beyond Geosynchronous Orbit, referred to as xGEO. Once complete, the trade study will provide the groundwork for up to two Firefly demonstration missions that will advance the DoD's responsive access to xGEO.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2023/12/darpa-selects-14-companies-for-luna-10-capability-study/ Thu, 07 Dec 2023 07:00:52 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=52700 The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected 14 companies for the 10-Year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) Capability Study, which aims to catalyze the setup of a future civil lunar framework for peaceful U.S. and international use. LunA-10 seeks to study the rapid development of technology concepts for a series of shareable, scalable systems that can operate jointly, creating monetizable services for future lunar users.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2023/11/spacewatchgl-economy-opinion-the-economic-significance-of-nuclear-propulsion/ Tue, 14 Nov 2023 09:00:19 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=52239 The 2023 edition of the legendary von Braun Space Exploration Symposium took place on October 25-27 2023 in the regular location, Huntsville, Alabama (recordings of sessions are available here). Its focus however was interestingly unusual: “Advancing Space: from LEO to Lunar and Beyond” featured a diverse program covering commercial, policy, and strategic communication concerns.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2023/03/darpa-to-develop-satellite-monitoring-software-solutions/ Fri, 31 Mar 2023 06:00:13 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=47730 The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) has selected teams to develop software solutions to constantly monitor up to 1,000 targets of interest via satellite with the Oversight program. This is to help military planners keep track of up to 1,000 targets of interest through the management of available space domain resources]]> https://spacewatch.global/2023/01/nasa-and-darpa-to-test-nuclear-engine-for-mars-missions/ Fri, 27 Jan 2023 07:00:37 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=46265 NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced a collaboration to demonstrate an in-space nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) engine. They will collaborate on the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) program, enabling NASA crewed missions to Mars. The non-reimbursable agreement will benefit both agencies and outline the roles, responsibilities, and processes to speed up development efforts.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2023/01/darpa-seeks-satellite-operators-for-leo-situational-awareness/ Fri, 20 Jan 2023 07:00:11 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=46119 DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Agency) has initiated a project to incentivise operators with large numbers of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to gain situational awareness throughout LEO, Breaking Defense said.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2022/08/darpa-selects-spacelink-for-space-bacn-program/ Tue, 23 Aug 2022 06:00:47 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=42870 The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Strategic Technology Office selected space data provider SpaceLink, to participate in the Space-Based Adaptive Communications Node (Space-BACN) program designed to connect the proliferated space domain, SpaceLink said.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2022/07/rocket-lab-darpa-and-space-development-agency-achieve-mandrake-2-milestone/ Fri, 15 Jul 2022 06:00:04 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=42148 Launch and space systems company, Rocket Lab USA, has supported a significant milestone for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Mandrake-2 mission, the company said. Able and Baker, the two Mandrake-2 spacecraft, successfully closed and maintained an optical communications link at a range of 114 km.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2022/05/darpa-launch-ionosphere-insights-mission-to-improve-radio-transmissions/ Fri, 20 May 2022 07:00:25 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=41075 The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is launching the Ouija program to provide new insights into high-frequency (HF) radio wave propagation in the ionosphere with the help of sensors on low-orbiting satellites.  HF radio transmissions are important to military systems across all domains including space, air, ground, and maritime.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2022/05/lockheed-martin-successfully-flies-second-darpa-hypersonic-missile/ Mon, 09 May 2022 06:00:57 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=40844 The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the U.S. Air Force Research Lab and Aerojet Rocketdyne completed a free flight test of Lockheed Martin’s Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC).  The vehicle accelerated to and maintained a speed faster than five times the speed of sound after release from the carrier aircraft.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2021/06/leostella-delivers-yam-3-to-loft-orbital-for-spacex-rideshare/ Tue, 29 Jun 2021 06:00:44 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=34025&preview=true&preview_id=34025 The smallsat manufacturer LeoStella delivered its first satellite to Loft Orbital Solutions, a payload service company, for a rideshare launch on Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, the company said. LeoStella delivered the “Yet Another Mission-3” (YAM-3) satellite, the company said.]]>