All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
Astra will receive $10,000,000 for successfully performing a second DARPA Launch Challenge launch from another site.
Astra filed a request for special temporary authority with the FCC on 2020-01-06 seeking permission for S-band telemetry for a launch from Wallops during a six-month period starting 2020-03-01 in support of the DARPA challenge.
DARPA selected Astra, Vector, and Virgin Orbit as finalists for the DARPA Launch Challenge in April 2019.
Astra is the sole remaining team in the DARPA Launch Challenge and can win $2,000,000 for placing a DARPA-supplied payload into space on the first launch.
Astra can win an additional $10,000,000 in the DARPA Launch Challenge if it performs a second launch from a separate location within weeks of the first.
Astra plans its first orbital launch later 2020-02 as part of a DARPA Challenge to develop small, mobile launch services.
Virgin Orbit withdrew from the DARPA Launch Challenge in October to focus on upcoming launches for government and commercial customers and expects to perform a first LauncherOne launch early 2020.
All three companies—Boeing, Masten Space Systems, and Northrop Grumman—received Phase 1 study contracts from DARPA in 2014.
DARPA announced the XS-1 program in 2013 to support development of responsive, reusable launch vehicles.
DARPA selected Boeing in May 2017 for Phases 2 and 3 of the program originally called XS-1.
The DARPA Launch Challenge offered a top prize of $10,000,000 to the company able to perform two launches of a small launch vehicle from two different sites on short notice.
AirLaunch LLC proposed a small launch vehicle to be deployed from a C-17 cargo aircraft and conducted a drop test to demonstrate feasibility, but DARPA elected to focus the FALCON program on a hypersonic testbed.
DARPA’s Airborne Launch Assist Space Access (ALASA) sought to develop a small rocket that could be launched from a fighter with 24 hours’ notice and for no more than $1,000,000.
DARPA selected three finalists for the Launch Challenge—Vector, Virgin Orbit, and a stealth company—for launches then scheduled for early 2020.
DARPA ended plans to perform an ALASA flight demonstration in November 2015 after discovering that the NA-7 propellant was too volatile to be safely handled.
DARPA valued the award for Phases 2 and 3 at $146,000,000 with unspecified funding contributions by Boeing.
Steven Walker resigned from DARPA on 2019-12-17 and his last day at DARPA is 2020-01-10.
DARPA set a stated goal for Blackjack to deploy 20 satellites by 2022 to demonstrate that low Earth orbit systems can be a more resilient and affordable alternative to geosynchronous military satellites.
The House Armed Services Committee recommended a $20,000,000 increase above DARPA's $25,000,000 Blackjack request for 2020.
DARPA requested $25,000,000 for Blackjack for fiscal year 2020.