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.
Redwire won a $44 million Phase 2 contract from DARPA for the Otter mission using Redwire’s SabreSat platform in very low Earth orbit.
DARPA has awarded contracts related to Vigoride 7 valued at approximately $4.2 million.
DARPA, the U.S. Space Force, the Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA, Portal, Orbit Fab, CisLunar Industries, DPhi, and Solstar Space are manifested to fly payloads on Vigoride 7.
Redwire Corporation is advancing its SabreSat platform under a $44 million Phase 2 contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for the Otter Very Low Earth Orbit mission.
DARPA selected Mithril’s product as awardable in its Expedited Research Implementation Series (ERIS), qualifying it for acquisition by the U.S. government.
Victoria Coleman’s career spans the U.S. Air Force, DARPA, and Intel.
NASA and DARPA are prototyping a lunar positioning, navigation, and timing system often described as a "Moon-GPS".
In the Pulling Guard program's second phase the system will be integrated with operational launchers and effectors to support live operations and allow Raytheon and DARPA to demonstrate end-to-end detection, tracking, and engagement of representative maritime threats.
Diffraqtion has secured a $1.5 million DARPA SBIR Direct-to-Phase 2 contract.
The $1.5 million DARPA contract funds 'on-sky' demonstrations using ground-based telescopes as a precursor to deploying quantum camera technology on a dedicated satellite constellation.
Diffraqtion raised $4.2 million in combined pre-seed funding and a DARPA SBIR Phase 2 contract on January 13, 2026.
Diffraqtion plans to transition its quantum cameras from ground-based demonstrators to a pilot satellite mission following the completion of the DARPA contract in 2027.
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded BAE Systems’ FAST Labs a $16 million Phase 2 contract for the Oversight program.
Victoria Coleman is the former Director of DARPA and has served as the 37th Chief Scientist of the U.S. Air Force.
Redwire received a $44 million DARPA award to build an air-breathing spacecraft for a VLEO mission.
DARPA awarded a $44 million contract to Redwire to advance its VLEO Otter mission.
The project by Petro and her team was launched through DARPA with a timeline of three years.
Redwire is working with DARPA to develop capabilities for defense, intelligence, and communications missions in very low Earth orbit (VLEO).
The DARPA project received a stop-work order in April, which interrupted funding restoration efforts.
The DARPA contract is part of the Otter program, which aims to validate VLEO technology through a flight lasting more than a year at an orbital altitude between 90 and 250 km.