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.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
An Air Force Research Laboratory sounding rocket experiment from Wallops built by Space Vector and Kratos was scheduled for 2020 and is now projected to fly in spring 2021.
The Pentagon has shown growing interest in monitoring objects in the region between Earth and the Moon, including the Cislunar Highway Patrol System (CHIPS) experimental spacecraft mission being developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory.
The Air Force Research Laboratory will use the Deployable Structures Laboratory to test advanced composite materials and structures to bring large-satellite capability to smaller satellites and reduce mission risk by improving satellite reliability.
The Air Force Research Laboratory is opening a $4,000,000 facility focused on spacecraft component testing.
AFRL plans to solicit ideas from the private sector and assess different technologies and approaches for the CHPS experiment.
Descartes Labs won a $2,200,000 direct award contract through the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Technology Advanced Research (STAR) program.
AFRL and the Space and Missile Systems Center developed technical standards for optical communications equipment to be used to connect satellites in space.
The AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate offers cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs) that provide companies access to government facilities and mentoring in exchange for sharing their technology with AFRL.
The AFRL-funded navigation satellite NTS-3 is an experimental satellite that could transition to production using the same contract if the Space and Missile Systems Center chooses to buy it.
SES Government Solutions and Isotropic Systems signed a two-phased antenna evaluation contract with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in collaboration with the U.S. Army Research Engineering Team to test Isotropic Systems’ multi-beam terminal over SES’s O3b MEO constellation.
The Air Force Research Laboratory developed an experimental navigation satellite called Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3).
The 1,250-kilogram NTS-3 satellite is being built by L3Harris under an $84,000,000 contract awarded by the Air Force Research Laboratory in December 2018.
A report coauthored by the Defense Innovation Unit, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the U.S. Space Force concluded that the first nation to establish transportation infrastructure and logistics capabilities serving GEO and cislunar space will have superior ability to exercise control of cislunar space, the Lagrange points, and the resources of the moon.
Viasat is building a cubesat for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory that is scheduled to launch in spring 2021.
The Space Force science and technology roadmap will reflect findings from the July report 'State of the Space Industrial Base 2020: A Time for Action to Sustain U.S. Economic & Military Leadership in Space' produced by the Defense Innovation Unit and the Air Force Research Laboratory.
The Space and Missile Systems Center is partnering with the Air Force Research Laboratory and other mission partners on experiments, small satellites, and prototypes to develop new concepts.
The Air Force Research Laboratory signed an agreement with ABL that allows the company to test hardware at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Once deployed, NTS-3 will be operated by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate.
York Space Systems and Metropolitan State University of Denver were awarded a Small Business Technology Transfer study contract by the Air Force Research Laboratory on 2020-06-23.
The Air Force Research Laboratory will launch in 2021 a small satellite equipped with a Link 16 military communications terminal that will operate in low Earth orbit.