U.S. Space Force Launching Five Institutes To Advance R&D

Air Force Research Lab Oracle Space Awareness Satellite

The U.S. Space Force wants to coordinate and accelerate university space technology research starting with space domain awareness.

Credit: Air Force Research Lab

COLORADO SPRINGS—The U.S. Space Force is launching five Strategic Technology Institutes to advance research and development for space technology that it believes will be critical.

The institutes, which will be organized virtually, are expected to encourage U.S. universities and research entities to work together, said Nick Karmin, Space Force associate director of science, technology and research, at the Space Symposium here on April 19.

“We’re really encouraging universities to come together and create a network together,” he says. The institutes will “also bring in industry, especially as we help some of the research transition to advanced development, but also prototyping and demonstration.”

The institutes will be similar to the U.S. Defense Department’s University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics, Karmin notes. That consortium is a network of universities, national laboratories, federally funded research centers and other research entities that receive government funding for research on hypersonic flight.

“University research is a ripe area for us,” says Joel Mozer, Space Force director of science, technology and research.

The five institutes will be focused on space domain awareness beyond geosynchronous orbit, advanced power propulsion, advanced remote sensing, data trust and cybersecurity, and in-space servicing and manufacturing.

The Space Force recently issued its first request for proposals for space domain awareness beyond geosynchronous orbit, Mozer says.

“We know we need to apply advanced technologies to space domain awareness,” he adds. “We need to figure out better ways to see what’s coming, and we need to look further out.”

Garrett Reim

Based in the Seattle area, Garrett covers the space sector and advanced technologies that are shaping the future of aerospace and defense, including space startups, advanced air mobility and artificial intelligence.