The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is the primary research and development center for the Department of the Air Force, playing a key role in developing warfighting technologies for air, space, and cyberspace. As an integrated lab, AFRL supports both the Air Force and the Space Force, providing solutions ranging from satellites and rocket fuel to advanced materials and manufacturing processes. AFRL partners with organizations like NASA, other government agencies, academia, and industry to conduct research, develop technologies, and test new concepts for space-based capabilities, including space weather observation and data transport. Key areas of focus include space vehicles, rocket propulsion, directed energy, and advanced materials for aerospace systems.
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The AFRL contract for the OneWeb Arctic demonstrations is valued at about $3,400,000 and has an 18-month period.
The NTS-3 launch delay is due to launch scheduling and results from NTS-3 being a rideshare with other United States Space Force customers, with AFRL not controlling the overall schedule.
The launch delay provides AFRL additional time to complete the NTS-3 ground system work.
L3Harris is building the 1,250-kilogram NTS-3 satellite under an $84,000,000 contract that AFRL awarded in December 2018.
The U.S. Space Force will take ownership of NTS-3 after AFRL completes the experiment and will integrate it into its regular set of capabilities.
Air Force Research Laboratory is planning a 2023 launch of the NTS-3 experimental satellite for positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT).
The Air Force Research Laboratory partnered with Kratos Unmanned Systems Division and Area-I to complete the XQ-58A Valkyrie’s sixth test/demonstration flight on 2021-03-26 at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona.
Space Domain Awareness in Orlando won $10,000 in prize money from the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Hyperspace Challenge for a laser-tracking device for cubesats and space debris.
The Air Force Research Laboratory signed a seven-year $50,800,000 contract with Viasat to study integration of commercial and government satellite communications.
AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate will work with Viasat to develop ways to integrate commercial satcom with government-owned satellites into a seamless network.
A three-stage suborbital sounding rocket launched an Air Force Research Laboratory experiment from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on 2021-03-03.
The U.S. Space Force and the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Launch Enterprise launched an experimental research payload for the Air Force Research Laboratory aboard a Terrier-Terrier-Oriole sounding rocket on 2021-03-03.
The Air Force Research Laboratory awarded SpaceX an $8,500,000 contract to investigate advanced materials and manufacturing techniques for heat shields that protect hypersonic vehicles in flight.
The 2019 Orbital Test Bed spacecraft hosted NASA’s Deep Space Atomic Clock and a modular solar array developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory.
The Air Force Research Laboratory is working with ViaSat to deploy a Link 16 terminal on a small satellite in low Earth orbit as a network relay.
Viasat received a $50,800,000 contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory to develop a broad range of space systems.
The two damaged satellites are part of the Blackjack program, a constellation effort led by DARPA, the Space Development Agency, and the Air Force Research Laboratory to deploy small satellites in low Earth orbit.
Michael Hayduk is the deputy director of AFRL’s Information Directorate in Rome, New York.
The event was funded by AFRL’s Information Directorate, AFOSR, the Office of Naval Research, the Griffiss Institute, New York State Technology Enterprise Corporation, and SUNY Research Foundation.
The Office of Scientific Research under the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) conducted the Quantum U Tech Accelerator grant competition in the latter half of 2020.