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.
CACI International Inc. partnered with DARPA and the Space Development Agency on the Mandrake II program to demonstrate space-to-space optical communications links in LEO.
DARPA plans to launch the DRACO nuclear thermal propulsion demonstration in 2025.
Two small satellites launched by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in summer 2024 established an optical link on 2022-04-14 during a nearly 40-minute test.
Space-to-space optical communications is a critical technology for DARPA's Blackjack constellation and for the Space Development Agency's planned mesh network of small satellites in low Earth orbit.
CACI International Inc. was awarded a $20,400,000 contract to provide technology, research, development, and innovation in support of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Mission-Integrated Network Control program.
DARPA is seeking proposals for Phases 2 and 3 of the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) program for the design, development, fabrication, and assembly of a nuclear thermal rocket engine.
The Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) project started over a year ago when DARPA selected a preliminary design for a rocket engine reactor developed by General Atomics and chose two conceptual spacecraft designs by Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency issued a solicitation for proposals for the next phase of a demonstration of a nuclear powered spacecraft on 2022-05-04.
Telesat has a study contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for the Blackjack program that involves two spacecraft slated to launch in October to low Earth orbit at roughly the same altitude as Telesat’s planned Lightspeed network.
Bill Carter, NOM4D program manager in DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office, expects that advances in the next 10 to 20 years will enable the Department of Defense to take full advantage of NOM4D-developed technologies and capabilities.
While at DARPA from 2017 to 2019, Fred Kennedy started the agency’s nuclear space propulsion program known as DRACO, short for Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has advocated shifting Department of Defense capabilities to low Earth orbit and larger constellations because very large, exquisite satellites cost more and take longer to build and launch.
DARPA signed an agreement with Northrop Grumman in 2020 allowing Northrop Grumman to use the robotic payload on the MRV in exchange for access to technology demonstrations and program data.
PredaSAR won a $2,000,000 contract from the U.S. Space Force in December to demonstrate interoperability between its satellites and DARPA’s Blackjack constellation.
The DARPA contract involving Phase Four was announced on 2022-02-16.
The Space Development Agency took over the experiment originally developed for DARPA and renamed it POET.
CACI will deliver 40 optical communications terminals for DARPA’s Blackjack satellites over the next several months.
The 40 optical communications terminals are being produced under a $16,300,000 DARPA contract awarded in 2020 to SA Photonics.
The first batch of DARPA’s optical terminals will be delivered this summer for integration with Blackjack satellite buses made by Blue Canyon Technologies and to be ready to launch this fall.
Airbus OneWeb Satellites is performing subcontracts to Airbus that include work on two satellite buses for the Blackjack LEO constellation under a DARPA contract awarded to Telesat.