June 2014
The hypersonic grail: advances at DARPA, AFRL and beyond
... unneeded oxidiser. An artist’s illustration of DARPA’s Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (HTV-2), which successfully ...us Relatively close on the heels of these two successes come DARPA’s Hypersonic Air- Breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) and Tactical Boost...
April 2018
Servicing the space economy
... is ongoing research to develop servicing spacecraft that will refuel a client satellite, rather than act as an additional engine. DARPA and NASA are carrying out such research. NASA’s Robotic Refuelling Mission will demonstrate tools, technologies...
August 2017
On-orbit assembly will deliver major benefits in coming decade
... by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Orbital Express in 2007. The mission involved a surrogate...module exchange, and then safely de-orbit the client. DARPA is developing robotic servicing vehicles for GEO satellites as part ...
July 2020
Key technologies for space exploration
... Another case study that proved challenging for SNC was the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) need for a larger reaction control thruster for the agency’s Experimental Space Plane (XSP). Using advanced...
August 2020
Interstellar aspirations
... idea was widely criticised by members of the US Congress and others, and was disavowed by both NASA and DARPA. It was abundantly clear that governments - at least the US Government - placed a low priority on interstellar flight. However, private...
April 2021
Satellite servicing comes of age
... Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) programme. The payload is being flown by SpaceLogistics on a no-exchange-of-funds partnership basis, whereby DARPA funds the payload and SpaceLogistics the MRV and launch. The MRV will carry the RSGS...
