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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Lockheed Martin received an Air Force Research Laboratory contract in November 2023 for the Joint Emergent Technology Supplying On-Orbit Nuclear project.
The SpaceWERX TACFI program is run through AFWERX and the Air Force Research Laboratory.
The agreement gives PiLogic access to AFRL’s satellite testing platform to validate and refine its diagnostic models under mission-like conditions.
AFRL’s Small Satellite Portfolio is overseeing the PiLogic collaboration.
AFRL is evaluating next-generation autonomy for satellite health monitoring with causal understanding through the PiLogic agreement.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and Los Angeles-based PiLogic entered a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement to test PiLogic’s Exact AI engine on spacecraft electrical and power failures.
Joseph Melville is the Satellite Autonomy Lead at AFRL.
Dawn Aerospace’s customers include the US Air Force Research Lab, the Royal Netherlands Air Force, and the Royal New Zealand Navy.
Quantum Space has six contracts and pending proposals with national-security customers including the Space Force, DARPA, and AFRL.
Portal Space Systems’ solar thermal propulsion technology had been validated in NASA and Air Force Research Laboratory programs before commercialization.
A reentry capsule carrying payloads for the Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA, and Sandia National Laboratory touched down at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia.
The W-6 mission was funded through the Prometheus program, a partnership between the Air Force Research Laboratory and commercial space entities.
Firefly Aerospace received an Air Force Research Laboratory contract to support development of the Advanced Algorithm R&D and Verification Architecture.
NewSpace Nexus, the U.S. Space Force, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the Defense Innovation Unit released the State of the Space Industrial Base 2025 report in April 2026.
The Air Force Research Laboratory awarded BlackSky a $99 million sole-source IDIQ contract to develop advanced large-aperture optical imaging testbeds.
Intuitive Machines received an $8.2 million Air Force Research Laboratory contract extension in October 2025 to advance in-space nuclear power technology.
Hughes received an Air Force Research Laboratory contract to develop an intelligent space data network that integrates Department of Defense, allied, and commercial satellite communication networks.
The W-6 mission is funded through a partnership between the Air Force Research Laboratory and commercial space entities.
The satellites developed under the AFRL award will operate as a data storage and processing hub.
The satellites developed under the AFRL award will be compatible with on-orbit data centers.