Gravitics will develop “tactically responsive” orbital platforms for the Space Force

Creator of the space station module Gravitation won a $1.7 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to develop orbital platforms enabling flexible space missions.

The contract is an element of a bigger effort by the Armed Forces to amass space solutions – resembling launches, satellite payload integration and even satellite operations – from the private sector on previously unheard of timelines. The initiative is known as TacRS, and it has already resulted in record-breaking missions: Firefly Space’s Alpha rocket left the pad just 27 hours after receiving launch notification from the Space Force under last yr’s TacRS contract.

While Gravitics was unable to offer more details on the exact operating concept, the startup’s co-founder and chief marketing officer Mike DeRosa clarified in an email that the company doesn’t install the module on a rocket for a tactical launch. Instead, the mission involves developing “platforms that enable a new type of tactically responsive space mission,” he said.

The $1.7 million contract was awarded by SpaceWERX in cooperation with the Space Systems Command’s Space Safari Program Office. In a press release, Space Safari’s chief operating officer, Lt. Col. Jason Altenhofen, said the Gravitics module “offers an unconventional and potentially game-changing solution for TacRS.”

“Looking ahead, the innovative use of commercial technologies will be an important aspect of solving some of our most difficult challenges,” he said.

Under the contract, Gravitics will collaborate with several other corporations, including Rocket Lab, True Anomaly, Space Exploration Engineering and Eta Space. While there aren’t any specific details on how the two corporations will work together, the company said the partners will “help refine the mission architecture, develop equipment tailored to specific use cases, and develop on-board hardware.”

Rocket Lab and True Anomaly were awarded separate space contracts for a mission called Diet fog earlier this month. Under this contract, each company will construct a spacecraft that will then be quickly put into operation and ready for operations in orbit.