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.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency sponsored a 2018 competition offering prizes for responsive launch systems capable of getting satellites to orbit quickly and inexpensively.
DARPA awarded Blue Canyon Technologies a $14,100,000 contract in June to build four satellite buses for the Blackjack program.
DARPA intends that the U.S. Defense Department can modify a Telesat LEO satellite bus to accommodate Blackjack payload inserts and thermal requirements.
DARPA is considering using whatever satellite bus Telesat selects as a potential bus for the Blackjack program.
The innovation and prototyping directorate is collaborating with DARPA’s Blackjack program, which is developing a low Earth orbit technology demonstration using small satellites.
DARPA's Tactical Technology Office launched the Blackjack program in 2018 to demonstrate the value of small satellites in low Earth orbit as an alternative to the Pentagon's large geosynchronous satellites.
Paul "Rusty" Thomas is the current Blackjack program manager and will be leaving DARPA later 2020-08 to take a job in the private sector.
Winning the DARPA Launch Challenge launch and reaching orbit would have awarded Astra $2,000,000 and qualified the company to make a second launch for $10,000,000 more.
Peter Highnam was the acting director of DARPA on 2020-07-30.
DARPA launched the Launch Challenge in 2018 with $12,000,000 in prize money for companies that could deploy small satellites to orbit twice within a two-week period.
DARPA’s Blackjack program plans to build a network of as many as 20 satellites to demonstrate a proliferated LEO constellation for the U.S. military to communicate, share data, and detect targets.
Astra was the final company remaining in the DARPA Launch Challenge and would have won $2,000,000 for a successful launch that day and qualified for an additional $10,000,000 for a second launch later in the month.
The $14,100,000 production contract puts Blue Canyon Technologies in a position to become the leading supplier of satellite buses for DARPA’s Blackjack program.
DARPA signed study contracts with other bus providers while Blue Canyon Technologies holds the only production contract for Blackjack.
The Blackjack contract with Blue Canyon Technologies has options for DARPA to buy up to 20 satellites for $99,400,000.
DARPA’s Blackjack program has a goal to deploy 20 satellites by 2022.
Blue Canyon Technologies is producing four satellite buses for the Blackjack program under a $14,100,000 contract awarded last month by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Had Astra reached orbit on its March launch attempt, Astra would have won $2,000,000 from the DARPA Launch Challenge.
The 2020-03-02 launch scrub took place on the last day of the launch period for the DARPA Launch Challenge.
Astra could have won an additional $10,000,000 from DARPA by carrying out a second launch later in March from a nearby pad at the same spaceport.