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A trio of Space Development Agency (SDA) notifications

The SDA issues call for proposal under STEC BAA for BMC3 adaptable processor, application spaces compatible with future PWSA Tranche space vehicles

The Space Development Agency (SDA) has issued a call for proposals under the SDA Systems, Technologies, and Emerging Capabilities (STEC) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), FA240123S0001, that was posted on SAM.gov on January 17, 2023.

With this call, SDA solicits full, but concise, proposals to perform engineering studies, analyses, and technical trades of a Battle Management Command, Control, and Communications (BMC3) Adaptable Processor (BAP) with different configurations providing specialized space-based high-performance computing capabilities for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) missions deployed through the architecture’s capability layers.

The PWSA will make use of a distributed BMC3 hardware and software framework with mission-specific processing, algorithms, and applications across its various capability layers.

The desired outcome of these studies is recommended requirements for a family of processing units for different applications that are compatible with future PWSA tranche space vehicles. The proposals will include recommendations for cost/performance trade-offs, common interface design and system architectures. SDA is looking for modular approaches that support open system configurations.

To learn more about the call for proposals and submission instructions, please visit sam.gov/opp/a4d0df52723a461c88df0d3b624b629e/view

Responses to this solicitation are due by 5:00 p.m. ET, Friday, July 28, 2023.

SDA issues RFI for PWSA Battle Management Command, Control, and Communications (BMC3) Adaptable Processor Module

The Space Development Agency has also issued a request for information to help inform an upcoming solicitation for Battle Management Command, Control, and Communication (BMC3) processing modules intended for the PWSA. The intent is to inform the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) used for future PWSA tranches particularly the interface standards to provide best of breed solutions for space-borne data processing. The RFI will also help inform the acquisition strategy used to contract for these units going forward.

The BMC3 Adaptable Processor (BAP) modules comprise the foundation of SDA’s Battle Management Layer to provide advanced processing capabilities at the edge. This RFI seeks input on the interface description from industry players who may have spacecraft that will be accommodating BAP modules but may not be involved in designing the processors. SDA is explicitly seeking information to inform future solicitations and reduce risk toward battle management interoperability within the SDA architecture and development plans.

To learn more about the specific BMC3 challenges and details of the RFI, please visit sam.gov/opp/00e14e06cdef48dcb4064c8bf4e24299/view.

Responses to this solicitation are due by 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday, July 28, 2023.

SDA issues solicitation for Tranche 2 Transport Layer—Alpha Variant Space Vehicles

The SDA is seeking industry proposals for one of several types of Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL) space vehicles — T2TL Alpha. This solicitation, posted on June 28, 2023, expands upon the foundation for Tranche 2 of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) that was previously described in the T2TL Beta solicitation.

SDA expects to procure approximately 100 T2TL—Alpha space vehicles divided into two sub-constellations — T2TL-Alpha-Low, comprised of four (4), lowly inclined orbital planes of 19 SVs, and T2TL-Alpha-High, comprised of six (6) highly inclined orbital planes of four (4) SVs. The Alpha variant will share certain common characteristics with the other T2TL variants (Beta and Gamma). Baseline payloads and subsystems on all T2TL satellites include:

  • Three optical communication terminals (OCTs)
  • Ka-band mission payload
  • Networking and data routing subsystem
  • Navigation subsystem
  • S-band backup telemetry, tracking, and control (TT&C) subsystem

T2TL-Alpha space vehicles specifically will include the following additional payloads/capabilities:

  • Fourth OCT
  • Link 16 mission payload
  • Battle Management, Command, Control, and Communications (BMC3) module
  • Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Situational Awareness (SA) capability within navigation subsystem

T2TL features multiple space vehicle and mission configuration variants procured through a multi-solicitation and multi-vendor acquisition approach. The initial launch capability is scheduled for September of 2026.

Please view the full solicitation at sam.gov/opp/5e2dd1b3819a4441916332ef71503c99/view for additional information and proposal submission instructions.

Responses are due by July 28, 2023.

U.S. Space Force enlists L3Harris® for $29 million to support detecting and tracking hypersonic missiles

L3Harris has prioritized investments in end-to-end missile warning and missile defense solutions to counter emerging threats facing our country.

The U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command, through the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) Other Transaction Authority (OTA) vehicle, awarded L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) approximately $29 million for a sensor payload design contract to deliver a digital model for the medium Earth orbit (MEO) – Missile Track Custody (MTC) Epoch 1 program that will support detecting and tracking hypersonic missiles.

To inform the Space Force’s future missile warning and tracking constellation, L3Harris will conduct an infrared sensor payload critical design phase that will support realistic cost, schedule and performance predictions.

Rendering of missile-warning space sensor. Credit: L3Harris Technologies

“L3Harris is proud to be an integral part of the Space Force Space Systems Command’s Missile Track Custody program, which will provide groundbreaking missile warning and tracking capabilities that are at the forefront of our national defense,” said Ed Zoiss, President, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris. “We are committed to leveraging our extensive work within our nation’s integrated missile defense architecture to provide resilient, low-risk and affordable solutions for both Epoch 1 and future Epochs.” 

The L3Harris MEO-MTC contract will conclude its critical design review phase in May 2024. The work will be performed at the company’s Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Melbourne, Florida, facilities. 

“I’m very excited the next generation of Space Force missile tracking satellites will be built right here in Fort Wayne,” said Congressman Jim Banks, who represents Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District where L3Harris’ Fort Wayne facility is located. “These satellites are crucial to defending our homeland and a great example of the groundbreaking innovation going on in Northeast Indiana. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I’m proud to have helped secure this investment that will support hundreds of high-paying jobs in our region.”

Arianespace’s flight VA261 mission a success for Ariane 5’s grand finale

On July 5, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. local time, Ariane 5, operated by Arianespace, lifted off flawlessly from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, carrying Heinrich-Hertz-Satellit for the German government and SYRACUSE 4B for the French Ministry of Defence.

The Heinrich-Hertz-Mission is the first dedicated German telecommunications satellite-based mission that will be used to conduct research and to test new technologies and telecommunications scenarios. The technologies on board are meant to respond smartly and flexibly to future challenges, to support future telecommunications scenarios and to be adapted from Earth to address new technical requirements and market needs. The mission is managed by the German Space Agency on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and with the participation of the German Federal Ministry of Defence (BMVg). The Heinrich-Hertz-Satellit was mainly developed and built by OHB System.

The SYRACUSE 4B satellite is part of the SYRACUSE IV program carried out under the leadership of the DGA in collaboration with the French Air and Space Force, and for the Space Command (CdE). Together with SYRACUSE 4A, it will enable French armed forces to remain permanently connected when they are deployed on operations. At sea, in the air, or on land, the armed forces need powerful and secure communications systems to be able to exchange information with theIr command center. Thanks to state-of-the-art equipment including an anti-jamming antenna and a digital onboard processor, SYRACUSE 4B will be fully protected against the most severe military threats. It will help guarantee French national sovereignty while also supporting NATO operations. Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space joined forces to develop the SYRACUSE 4A and SYRACUSE 4B satellites so that the program could benefit fully from their combined expertise.

“This 117th and last Ariane 5 mission is emblematic in several respects. Ariane 5 has just deployed two telecommunications satellites, SYRACUSE 4B and Heinrich-Hertz-Satellit, for France and Germany, the first two contributors to the Ariane program,” said Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace. “This mission is also emblematic of Ariane 5’s ability to perform dual launches, which constitutes the very core of its success, with 197 satellites placed in geostationary orbit out of a total of 239 satellites deployed. Over its career, Ariane 5 has served 65 institutional and commercial customers from 30 countries. Ariane 5’s success heralds a promising career for Ariane 6.”

Heinrich-Hertz mission

This launch also marks the end of the remarkable career of the HM7 upper stage engine, which flew on the first Ariane 1 and on the final Ariane 5. It helped power Ariane launchers 228 times, without ever failing. This veteran of spaceflight has been a crucial element in the European space adventure. It will be replaced on Ariane 6 by the re-ignitable Vinci engine.

“Ariane 5 is now taking its place in the annals of global space history. This final successful mission demonstrates once again its supreme reliability in the service of European autonomy and rounds off an exceptional career distinguished by a succession of technological and industrial achievements. I share the emotion of all the employees at ArianeGroup, Arianespace, the French and European space agencies CNES and ESA, and all our European partners, who have contributed to its success over the course of these 27 years,” said Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup. “Together we are now taking up the challenge of Ariane 6, the beneficiary of the experience acquired with Ariane 5. It will be able to evolve and play a full role in guaranteeing independent, sustainable access to space for Europe, in a context of major strategic, economic and environmental challenges, to meet the needs of its institutional and commercial customers.”

SYRACUSE 4B satellite

Leading up to its inaugural flight, Ariane 6 is currently passing a series of key milestones in Europe and in French Guiana. Even more versatile and competitive, Ariane 6 will carry out its first missions with a rapid production ramp-up, supporting Europe’s institutional missions and meeting the swiftly growing demands of the commercial market.

The Ariane 5 heavy-lift launcher is an ESA program carried out in cooperation between public institutions and industry across 12 European partner states.

ArianeGroup is the lead contractor for the development and production of the Ariane family of launchers. It is responsible for Ariane 5 and Ariane 6 preparation operations up to lift-off. ArianeGroup is at the head of a vast industrial network of more than 600 companies, including 350 small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). ArianeGroup delivers a flight-ready launcher on the launch pad to its subsidiary Arianespace, which markets and operates Ariane 5 from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana. During Ariane 5 launch campaigns, Arianespace works closely with the French space agency (CNES), the design authority for the launcher and responsible for the satellite preparation facilities and the launch base.

Flight VA261 will carry to space two payloads — the German space agency DLR’s experimental communications satellite Heinrich Hertz and the French communications satellite Syracuse 4b. 

The flight will be the 117th mission for Ariane 5, a series which began in 1996. Notable Ariane 5 payloads have included; ESA’s comet-chasing Rosetta; a dozen of Europe’s Galileo navigation satellites orbited with just three launches; and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. Ariane 5’s next-to-last launch sent ESA’s Juice mission to Jupiter. 

This heavy launcher more than doubled the mass-to-orbit capacity of its predecessor, Ariane 4, which flew from 1988 until 2003 as a favorite of the telecommunications industry with its need to put large payloads into very high geosynchronous orbits. Ariane 5’s capacity enables it to orbit two large telecommunications satellites on a single launch, or to push large and heavy payloads into deep space as the need for global communications bandwidth rapidly increases, so do the demands on communications satellites. Communications satellites capable of handling modern and future demands
must therefore make use of increasingly high-performance technologies. The Heinrich Hertz mission is the first dedicated German communications satellite for researching and testing new technologies and
communications scenarios.

The technologies on board will respond smartly and flexibly to future satellite communications challenges, support future communications scenarios and be adapted from Earth to address new technical requirements and market conditions.

The mission is making an important contribution to the information society in Germany. The Heinrich Hertz mission is managed by the German Space Agency at DLR in Bonn on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), with the participation of the German Federal Ministry of Defence (BMVg). OHB-System AG was contracted to develop and build the satellite. A total of 42 partners are participating in the mission, of which 14 are involved in the scientific payload

Ordered by the French defense procurement agency (DGA), this satellite will enable the French Armed Forces to remain permanently connected during deployments. Whether at sea, in the air or on land, military personnel need powerful, secure communications to exchange information with the command center. Thanks to state-of-the-art equipment (anti-jamming antenna, digital processor, etc.), SYRACUSE 4B will be totally protected against the most extreme jamming methods. Built to defend French sovereignty, the satellite will also be able to support operations led by NATO and the EU.

The SYRACUSE IV military telecommunications satellite system, comprising 2 satellites, SYRACUSE 4A and 4B, is being built for the DGA by an industrial consortium formed by Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence and Space. Thales Alenia Space is responsible for the SYRACUSE 4A satellite, based on its 100% electric SpaceBus Neo platform, and for the two payloads.

Airbus Defence and Space is responsible for the SYRACUSE 4B satellite, based on the all electric version of the Eurostar platform, and supplies critical elements of both payloads Thales Alenia Space is the lead contractor responsible for relations with the French Ministry for the Armed Forces.

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Hughes JUPITER 3 arrives at Cape Canaveral for launch

Artistic rendition of the Hughes JUPITER 3 satellite, built by Maxar Technologies, on-orbit.

Hughes Network Systems, an EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS) company, has announced the company’s JUPITER™ 3, ultra high-density satellite has arrived in Cape Canaveral, Florida, for the upcoming launch.

Hughes JUPITER 3 (EchoStar XXIV) ultra high-density satellite pictured prior to delivery to Cape Canaveral SFB for launch preparations. Photo is courtesy of Maxar.

JUPITER 3, also known as EchoStar XXIV, was built by Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, and is engineered to deliver gigabytes of connectivity to customers across North and South America. The satellite was carefully loaded onto an Antonov aircraft, flown across the country, and delivered to the U.S. Space Coast, where it will undergo launch preparations before a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carries it to orbit.

When fully deployed, JUPITER 3, the largest commercial communications satellite ever built, approaches the wingspan of a commercial airliner. With JUPITER 3, Hughes will enhance its HughesNet® offerings for customers in the U.S. and Latin America with more broadband capacity and higher speed plans—some with speeds up to 100 Mbps.

The company will also offer higher speed HughesNet Fusion® plans, the low-latency, home internet that leverages multipath technology to seamlessly blend satellite and wireless technologies for a faster and more responsive service than traditional satellite internet.

With dense, high-throughput capacity across the Americas, JUPITER 3 will also support applications such as in-flight Wi-Fi, enterprise networking and cellular backhaul for mobile network operators (MNOs).

“As the leading provider of satellite internet to rural customers across the Americas, we are proud to begin a new era of connectivity with the launch of JUPITER 3. Doubling the capacity of our satellite fleet with an additional 500 Gbps, JUPITER 3 will enable us to serve more customers, especially where cable and fiber can’t, so they can do everything they want—including work at home, study online, play games, engage in their communities, and stay in touch with family and friends. Since inventing satellite internet and bringing broadband connectivity to remote and rural customers, Hughes has continued to advance our service offerings with more capacity, higher speeds and a better online experience. JUPITER 3 represents the next leap in our offerings, bringing HughesNet customers what they have been asking for: more data and higher speeds.” — Hamid Akhavan, CEO, EchoStar

Telstra signs agreement with Starlink

Telstra has signed an agreement to become the first provider in the world to offer voice-only and voice plus broadband powered by Starlink to rural and remote Telstra customers in Australia.

Telstra CEO Vicki Brady said the Starlink agreement was part of Telstra’s T25 strategy commitment to launch a satellite product with the voice and broadband options being available to consumer and business customers. The company will announce pricing and device details closer to launch, which it expects to be in late 2023.

Telstra currently uses a mix of technologies to provide voice and broadband services in rural and remote Australia, including nbn Fixed Wireless, Telstra’s own, mobile network and older copper and radio networks.

Starlink will provide an additional connectivity option for people and businesses in rural and remote locations where distance and terrain make it difficult to reach with existing networks.

One of the benefits of LEO satellites is that they are much closer to Earth, allowing them to send and receive signals far faster than higher, orbiting satellites. This makes them a great option for services that require low-latency, such as voice and video calls or for providing backhaul to mobile networks.

“Telstra is always looking to invest in new and better connectivity options for our customers. We know that collaborating with the right partners is one of the best ways to help unlock a digital future, in this case for people in rural and remote Australia looking for an improved voice or broadband service. Our teams have been out across the country testing and trialling Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technology to ensure we understand where it’s the best solution for our consumer and business customers. What will set our offer apart is the addition of Telstra voice service, a professional install option and the ability to get local help with your set up if needed.In addition, this agreement will also provide connectivity options for our business customers in Australia and overseas, as a higher bandwidth business grade option in areas without fixed and mobile connectivity.”— Vicki Brady, CEO, Telstra

SpaceX launches ESA and NASA’s Euclid on a mission to shed light on dark energy

On Saturday, July 1 at 11:12 a.m. ET, SpaceX launched the ESA Euclid mission to a Sun-Earth L2 transfer orbit, also known as the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This begins Euclid’s mission to study why the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. Astronomers use the term “dark energy” in reference to the unknown cause of this accelerated expansion.

This was the second launch and landing for this Falcon 9 first stage booster, which previously launched Ax-2.

NASA’s contributions to Euclid‘s European Space Agency mission, will complement dark energy studies by the agency’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The project involved 3,500 people from 21 different countries. After today’s launch ESA Euclid will have a month long commissioning phase and, after two months of performance verification the satellite may begin returning images in the fall of this year.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California delivered critical hardware for one of the Euclid spacecraft’s instruments. In addition, NASA has established a U.S.-based Euclid science data center, and NASA-funded science teams will join other Euclid scientists in studying dark energy, galaxy evolution, and dark matter. The agency’s forthcoming Nancy Grace Roman mission will also study dark energy — in ways that are complementary to Euclid. Mission planners will use Euclid’s findings to inform Roman’s dark energy work.

After the Euclid spacecraft separated from the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, ESA announced a successful launch. Euclid will undergo a series of checks and calibrations before it starts collecting science data in about three months.

Euclid and Roman team up The ESA Euclid (left) and NASA Roman space telescope, shown together in this artist’s concept, will explore the cosmic mystery of dark energy in complementary ways.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, ESA/ATG medialab

“We are thrilled about the successful launch of ESA’s Euclid mission and are eager to see the science it returns,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “By studying the ‘dark side’ of our universe, Euclid is not only paving the way for NASA’s Roman Space Telescope, it is igniting a new golden age of survey astronomy that will help us understand our universe’s history and structure in ways that were not possible before.”

Illuminating Dark Energy

The Euclid mission could help scientists determine whether our current understanding of gravity needs to be rewritten or if an entirely new mechanism is needed to explain the universe’s accelerating expansion.

Euclid will create a cosmic map that covers almost a third of the sky, charting the location of millions of galaxies and measuring the average spacing between them — one indicator of dark energy’s influence. Because the light from distant objects takes time to reach us, Euclid will observe galaxies as they were when the universe was about three billion years old. By also looking at closer galaxies, the mission will track how dark energy’s effect has changed over time.

Universe Dark Energy-1 Expanding Universe
This diagram reveals changes in the rate of expansion since the universe’s birth 15 billion years ago. The more shallow the curve, the faster the rate of expansion. The curve changes noticeably about 7.5 billion years ago, when objects in the universe began flying apart as a faster rate. Astronomers theorize that the faster expansion rate is due to a mysterious, dark force that is pulling galaxies apart.
Credit: NASA/STSci/Ann Feild

Euclid will also study dark energy by mapping the presence of another mysterious cosmic phenomenon called dark matter. Five times more common in the universe than regular matter, dark matter is distributed throughout the cosmos. While dark matter does not absorb or reflect light, scientists can detect it via its gravitational influence on “regular” matter like stars and galaxies, and its distribution throughout the cosmos is affected by dark energy’s outward push.

Scheduled to launch by May 2027, Roman will study a smaller section of sky than Euclid, but it will provide higher resolution images of millions of galaxies and peer deeper into the universe’s past, providing complementary information. Roman will also survey nearby galaxies, find and investigate planets throughout our galaxy, study objects on the outskirts of our solar system, and more.

Three NASA-supported science teams contribute to the Euclid mission. In addition to designing and fabricating the sensor-chip electronics for Euclid’s Near Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP) instrument, JPL led the procurement and delivery of the NISP detectors as well. Those detectors along with the sensor chip electronics were tested at NASA’s Detector Characterization Lab at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Euclid NASA Science Center at IPAC (ENSCI), at Caltech in Pasadena, California, will archive the science data and support U.S.-based science investigations using Euclid data. JPL is a division of Caltech.

Firefly Aerospace signs agreement with Lockheed Martin for Alpha launch services

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. has signed a launch agreement with Lockheed Martin to support a technology demo mission that will launch aboard Firefly’s Alpha vehicle (image above).

Firefly’s Alpha rocket provides affordable and responsive launch services with the capability to lift more than 1,000 kg. to LEO. The vehicle uses Firefly’s patented, tap-off, cycle propulsion technology and carbon composite, sandwich structures to reduce mass and costs and improve strength and reliability. As a launch provider, Firefly provides an important capability to Lockheed Martin in supporting access to space for that company’s key spacecraft technologies.

“Firefly’s flight-proven hardware and rapid launch capabilities are well-aligned with Lockheed Martin’s mission needs, and we’re proud to serve as one of their launch providers,” said. “We have the infrastructure, technologies, systems, and a dedicated team in place to provide on-demand launch services for both government and commercial customers.” — Bill Weber, CEO, Firefly Aerospace

“We are working with Firefly because of their innovative performance in offering access to space for small payloads on Firefly Alpha. We look forward to collaborating with them, as we focus on creating a resilient launch environment for our upcoming technology demonstration.” — Dan Tenney, Vice President, Strategy and Business development, Lockheed Martin Space

Firefly is an end-to-end space transportation company with launch, lunar, and in-space services. As an all-American company headquartered in central Texas, Firefly is focused on delivering responsive, reliable, and affordable space access for government and commercial customers. Firefly’s small- to medium-lift launch vehicles, Space Utility Vehicles, and Blue Ghost lunar landers provide the space industry with a single source for missions from LEO to the surface of the Moon and beyond.

U.S. DoD awards million$$$ to SES Space & Defense

Under the single Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA), SES Space & Defense, in partnership with other companies, will provide highly-secure, Global, X-band SATCOM services to U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).

DRS Global Enterprise Solutions (GES), acquired and now part of SES’s wholly-owned subsidiary SES Space & Defense, has been awarded a five-year, X-Band, Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with an estimated value of $134 million in support of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The single award BPA was awarded through Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO) by the U.S. Space Force.

To deliver a near-global solution, SES Space & Defense has partnered with several industry-leading players, including integrators, SATCOM and teleport operators. Together, the contracted satellite operators will deliver Global X-Band satellite capacity, teleport and network services over a highly secure global terrestrial network, and other ancillary services to meet enduring and emerging DoD requirements.

To provide secure satellite communications service, SES Space & Defense will leverage the multi-mission GovSat-1 satellite, which features high-power X-band and Military Ka-band beams. GovSat-1 is a satellite operated by GovSat and is entirely dedicated to government and military missions.

The Global X-Band BPA is the first integration services agreement awarded to SES Space & Defense since the acquisition of DRS GES by SES was finalized in August of 2022. SES Space & Defense is dedicated to delivering the most trusted end-to-end global communications through a fully integrated Information and Communications Technology Ecosystem to the U.S. government and military.

“SES Space & Defense believes the BPA is one of the foundation blocks in accelerating MILSATCOM-COMSATCOM integration for the space enterprise. The US Space Force established this contract as a mechanism to enable access to commercial X-band capacity globally for the DoD. We have partnered with industry-leading, X-Band owners and operators as we understand the demand for secure, non-preemptible, mission-assured capacity for critical operations. By combining satellite capacity, SATCOM services can achieve the highest availability with redundant X-Band coverage and diverse gateway connectivity within sovereign space.” — David Fields, President and CEO, SES Space & Defense

U.S. Space Force reups iRocket to transform the power of launch vehicles

iRocket successfully demonstrated three operation modes of its innovative booster engine under a previous SBIR contract.

Innovative Rocket Technologies Inc. (iRocket), which provides low cost and rapid access to space with its 100% reusable rockets, has signed a contract with the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command  (SSC). Under the contract, iRocket will further develop its highly reusable rocket engine that will transform how launch vehicles are powered with clean, sustainable propellant and 24-hour turnaround launch cycles. The contract, in the amount of $1.8 million is funded through AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force and a Technology Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

Full-scale mock up of iRocket first stage that is 125-feet tall and is nine-feet in diameter.

Designed for delivering payloads to multiple orbits including LEO, GEO, and the Moon, the iRocket Shockwave launch vehicle will also be used for critical cargo delivery for national security and humanitarian aid missions. Under the Space Force contract, iRocket will perform a full-duration static fire test for 120-180 seconds to demonstrate its 35,000 lbs. thrust reusable engine that runs on an environmentally safe combination of liquid oxygen (LOX) and methane fuel. 

The contract is a Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI), which continues development following the July 2020 Phase II SBIR contract, during which iRocket successfully demonstrated three operation modes of its innovative booster engine: Augmented, Unaugmented, and Landing mode. The engine enables the Shockwave launch vehicle to land both the first and second stages, including the fairing, and is designed for immediate reuse.  

“We believe this contract extension is a clear endorsement of the value our technology brings to national security missions,” said Asad Malik, founder and CEO of iRocket. “The AFWERX mission is to help the Space Force benefit from innovation coming out of private sector companies such as iRocket. Our launcher meets the need for lower launch cost and increased operational tempo in delivering assets to orbit and because of its highly controlled autonomous vertical landing capability, the Shockwave vehicle also meets the need for fast, secure, point to point cargo delivery on the ground.”

Unlike other launch vehicles that are considered reusable, the Shockwave engine was built for frequent reuse, such as an airplane engine. The LOX/methane combination burns clean without residue or build up that needs to be removed before relaunch, and its single combustor design produces low turbine temperatures for reliability and easy maintenance.

Targeted for 300 to 1500 kg payloads, the Shockwave launcher is 125-feet tall and is nine-feet in diameter. Its vertical takeoff configuration enables inland launch capability. iRocket previously received a Phase I and Phase II contract with the Space System Command in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the Air Force Research Lab at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The company plans to launch its first vehicle in late 2027. 

NASA to provide coverage of ESA’s ‘Dark Universe’ mission launch

Artistic rendition of ESA’s Euclid mission in space. Euclid is designed to look far and wide to answer some of the most fundamental questions about our universe: What are dark matter and dark energy? What role did they play in formation of the cosmic web?
Credits: ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

The European Space Agency (ESA) and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 11:11 a.m., EDT, on Saturday, July 1, to launch the Euclid spacecraft.

Euclid is an ESA mission with contributions from NASA that will shed light on the nature of dark matter and dark energy, two of the biggest, modern mysteries about the universe.

Liftoff will be from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. NASA is contributing to the Euclid mission by delivering critical hardware for one of the spacecraft’s instruments, providing science team funding, and establishing a U.S.-based Euclid data processing center.

Live launch coverage from ESA will air on NASA Television, the NASA app as well as the agency’s website starting on July 1, at 10:30 a.m. Follow online at this direct link…