"We were in a very frenzied state," Air Force acquisition head Will Roper says of DoD efforts to stave off the collapse of key suppliers during the early weeks of the coronavirus crisis.
ABL's planned timeline would see the vehicle integration of the RS-1 this quarter, with a test launch in the third quarter of this year and the first commercial launch sometime after the end of the year.
The Sixth Domain is not defined by geography. It’s a new kind of conflict in which autonomy and networked systems allow thousand-dollar consumer electronics to destroy multi-million-dollar conventional weapons systems.
From 150 down to two -- that's how intense and ruthless the competition is going to be to win the Pentagon's nod for the small launch vehicle market.
Tucson-based Vector Launch, Virgin Orbit, and a "stealth" startup can compete for prizes up to $10 million in the DARPA Launch Challenge.