CACI International Inc. (NYSE: CACI) has successfully demonstrated space-to-space optical communications links in LEO in partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Space Development Agency (SDA) as part of the Mandrake II program. Mandrake II is a joint risk-reduction program with DARPA, SDA and the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles […]
DARPA
CACI Awarded DARPA Contract For Mission Software Development
CACI International Inc. (NYSE: CACI) was awarded a $20.4 million contract to provide technology, research, development, and innovation in support of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Mission-Integrated Network Control (MINC) program. MINC leverages software-defined networking (SDN) technology for remote, intelligent control of heterogeneous networks. This mission technology contract was awarded in CACI’s third […]
DARPA Seeks Proposals For The DRACO Nuclear-Thermal Rocket In-Space Flight Demo
DARPA is seeking proposals for Phases 2 and 3 of the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) program for the design, development, fabrication, and assembly of a nuclear thermal rocket engine — the goal is to execute an in-space flight demonstration of nuclear thermal propulsion in fiscal year 2026. The overall objective of DRACO […]
DARPA’s Ouija Program Solicitation Aims To Quantify HF Noise + Improve Characterization Of The Ionosphere To Support Warfighter Capabilities
Warfighters depend on high-frequency (HF) radio transmissions to operate military systems across the space, air, ground and maritime domains. Current understanding of how HF waves propagate through the electromagnetically noisy ionosphere typically depends on ground-based methods. To more accurately understand HF propagation in space requires scientific measurements taken from within the ionosphere itself. DARPA’s new […]
Space-Based Manufacturing To Be Explored Via DARPA’s New NOM4D Program
DARPA’s Novel Orbital Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass Efficient Design (NOM4D) program, is underway with eight industry and university research teams on contract. The selected teams are tasked to provide foundational proofs of concept in materials science, manufacturing, and design technologies to enable production of future space structures on-orbit without the volume constraints imposed by […]
Phase Four Wins DARPA Contract
Phase Four, the creator of the radio-frequency thruster (RF Thruster) for satellite propulsion, announced today that it finalized a contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to adapt the RF Thruster to operate on novel, low cost propellants. The effort includes the development of a prototype engine and vacuum chamber testing. The results of the […]
A U.S. Manufacturing Facility To Be Established By TESAT-SPACECOM
Tesat-Spacecom (TESAT) is expanding its manufacturing footprint into the United States to support its U.S. government and commercial customers. With more than 500,000 hours of operation and 10 Optical Communication Terminals (OCTs) in space, TESAT is the only provider worldwide for on-orbit-verified OCTs. TESAT is setting-up manufacturing operations in the U.S. to meet the growing […]
DARPA + NGA Develop Novel Optics To Field Military + Government Imaging Systems Prototypes To Support Warfighters
EXTREME, a basic research program in DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office, has successfully developed new optical components, devices, systems, architectures, and design tools using engineered optical materials, or metamaterials. Metamaterials are composed of unit cells that are much smaller than the operating wavelength, allowing for greater manipulation of light. Early examples of metamaterials were used to […]
Microchip’s Low Power FPGAs To Accelerate DARPA Tech Innovations
Recently, Microchip Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MCHP) joined the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Toolbox initiative that gives the organization’s researchers simplified open licensing opportunities with commercial technology vendors. Microchip’s participation will speed innovation across a variety of defense and aerospace development programs by giving qualified DARPA researchers zero-cost access to the company’s Libero® design […]
Carillon Technologies Receives Million$ Contract For HOBS Tech From DARPA
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded Carillon Technologies a $6.4 million contract to prototype next generation satellite-to-satellite communication systems derived from cutting edge, commercial, Holographic Optical Beam Steering (HOBS) technology. “Lightweight and affordable satellite-to-satellite optical communication is a breakthrough technology, not only for commercial and defense communication constellations currently being deployed, but […]