The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency within the U.S. Department of Defense, responsible for creating breakthrough technologies for national security. While not a space agency, DARPA initiates and manages high-risk, high-payoff projects relevant to space, including satellite constellations, space-based surveillance tech, lunar habitats, and advanced propulsion systems like nuclear thermal rockets. DARPA partners with various organizations, including NASA, U.S. Space Force, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, and BAE Systems, to achieve its goals. Keywords associated with DARPA's space activities include space superiority, space-based weaponry, advanced materials, and autonomous systems.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) was awarded a contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Tactical Technology Office to design an autonomous vertical takeoff and landing uncrewed aircraft system capable of operating from a moving U.S. Navy ship at sea.
The DARPA ASSERT program seeks to integrate radiation testing throughout the design and development lifecycle.
DARPA signed an agreement with Northrop Grumman in 2020 allowing Northrop Grumman to use DARPA-funded robotic payloads on the MRV in exchange for access to technology demonstrations and program data.
A robotic arm developed under a DARPA program was integrated on the MRV Robotics Module at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in May 2023.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency launched four satellites for a technology demonstration in low Earth orbit on 2023-06-12.
The DARPA contract with Blue Canyon included options worth $99,000,000 for up to 20 satellites.
DARPA signed an agreement in 2020 to share its satellite servicing technology with Northrop Grumman’s SpaceLogistics.
DARPA awarded Blue Canyon Technologies a $14,100,000 contract in 2020 to manufacture four Blackjack satellites.
DARPA, the U.S. Space Force, and the Space Development Agency are developing satellite constellations to improve the tactical relevance of U.S. space systems.
DARPA awarded BAE Systems’ FAST Labs a $7,000,000 contract for the Oversight autonomous, space-based, target custody program.
DARPA is partnering with MITRE Corp to provide consortium members access to classified office space, computers, and telephones at locations in Boston, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
Greg Kuperman oversees a DARPA program to develop low-cost optical satellite terminals.
Technology developed under the DARPA Oversight program will be deployed to both tactical-edge satellites and ground stations.
BAE Systems was awarded a $7,000,000 contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop AI tools to automate the tracking of data collected by military satellites.
DARPA, the U.S. Space Force, and the Space Development Agency are developing satellite constellations to improve the tactical relevance of U.S. space systems.
DARPA awarded BAE Systems’ FAST Labs a $7,000,000 contract for the Oversight autonomous space-based target custody program.
Umbra won a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on 2023-05-22 to demonstrate novel collection techniques using synthetic aperture radar satellites.
DARPA's High Operational Temperature Sensors (HOTS) program aims to develop microelectronic sensor technologies for high-bandwidth, high-dynamic-range sensing at extreme temperatures.
Rajant Kinetic Mesh BreadCrumb radio nodes have been used in large drone swarm formations in DARPA’s OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET) program.
The CONDOR Mk2 predecessor was delivered to Telesat Government Solutions as part of the DARPA Blackjack program.