Airbus-DARPA Satellite Bus
Constellations of Small Satellites Source: Airbus Airbus Wins Blackjack Program Contract DARPA, the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, just awarded Airbus a contract to develop a satellite bus for its Blackjack program. Blackjack is a satellite architecture for the US military. Essentially, it is the utilization of constellations of small satellites in low orbit for the military. DARPA's New Small Satellite System DARPA plans on pairing the satellite buses with military sensors and payloads. The buses will generate power for the satellites, provide propulsion and transmit spacecraft telemetry. The use of small, inexpensive satellite constellations for military purposes is a concept DARPA has been developing over the past several years. For more news stories on innovation, go to amazon.com/author/ekane