Summary
The goal of the DARPA Launch Challenge is to demonstrate responsive and flexible space launch capabilities from the burgeoning industry of small launch providers.
For nearly 60 years, the nation’s space architecture has been built around exquisite systems that are launched by large, expensive boosters.
The development cycle with the systems is tedious, with a process driven by a desire to reduce risk, rather than deliver timely capabilities.
The DARPA Launch Challenge seeks to demonstrate new and groundbreaking capabilities to address emerging Department of Defense needs.
The challenge will culminate in two separate launches to low Earth orbit (LEO) within weeks of each other at different locations in the United States.