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.
DARPA’s Launch Challenge offered a $10,000,000 grand prize.
A stealth company was one of three firms that qualified for DARPA’s Launch Challenge competition in April 2019.
The committee directs the Secretary of Defense to brief the committee by 2019-12-01 on progress with DARPA’s Blackjack and any related programs developing a proliferated global LEO constellation.
The Department of Defense, the Space Development Agency, and DARPA must provide a report by 2020-02-15 detailing progress on a proliferated LEO architecture and how it could enhance resilience and integrate into national security space strategy and architecture.
The Space Development Agency was stood up on 2019-03-12 and is led by former DARPA official Fred Kennedy.
Tethers Unlimited is targeting the small satellite market in low Earth orbit for LEO Knight, focusing on spacecraft too small to be economically serviced by robotic spacecraft developed under DARPA’s Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) program.
The STP-4 mission was originally scheduled for April 2021 to launch DARPA’s Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites vehicle.
The DARPA contract has provided Airbus with experience working on U.S. defense programs and serves as a stepping stone to other potential projects.
Airbus received a $2,900,000 contract from DARPA last fall to produce satellite buses for DARPA’s Blackjack program.
Blackjack will remain a joint DARPA and U.S. Air Force program while the Space Development Agency develops a larger proliferated LEO architecture for operational use.
Northrop Grumman built the R3D2 satellite for DARPA that launched on 2019-03-28 on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket to demonstrate deployment of a large antenna from a small satellite.
Fred Kennedy, director of DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office and mastermind of DARPA’s Blackjack program, was selected to lead the Space Development Agency.
As part of the DARPA Launch Challenge, the three companies will first attempt to launch payloads into orbit in January or February 2020.
The exact launch window and launch location for the DARPA Launch Challenge will be selected from a set of spaceports announced in November 2019 and will be revealed to the companies about 30 days in advance.
Each of the three qualifying companies received $400,000 from DARPA.
Each company that places a payload into orbit during the first launch of the DARPA Launch Challenge will receive $2,000,000 and must perform a second launch from a different site on short notice.
Companies that complete the second launch in the DARPA Launch Challenge will be eligible for a $10,000,000 first prize, a $9,000,000 second prize, and an $8,000,000 third prize.
Fred Kennedy previously led DARPA’s Blackjack effort to buy small satellites from the same vendors supplying megaconstellations like OneWeb.
The Space Development Agency was stood up on 2019-03-12 and is led by former DARPA official Fred Kennedy.
Rocket Lab successfully launched the Radio Frequency Risk Reduction Deployment Demonstration (R3D2) satellite for DARPA on 2019-03-28.