Working in partnership with the the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, the University of Cincinnati and Texas A&M University will receive a combined total of $49.9 million funding. Areas of In-Space Operations they will address include Space Access, Mobility, and Logistics.
Specifically, they will focus on spaceflight experimentation and space-related signal, energy, and transportation technologies, in line with the country’s In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing National Strategy.
The Regents of University of Colorado Boulder and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University – both recently awarded funding through the organisation’s University Consortium Research Opportunity 2.0 – are among the other universities involved with USSF.
Back in March 2023, it announced a previous University Consortium Research Opportunity, for “xGEO Operations and SDA” – researching Beyond Geostationary Earth Orbit (xGEO) Operations and Space Domain Awareness (SDA)
Note that – again in partnership with the AFRL – the USSF is also currently accepting proposals for USSF University Consortium/Space Strategic Technology Institute 3. This is focused on Advanced Space Power and Propulsion (ASPP).
SSTI 2
The military branch is setting up Space Strategic Technology Institutes to help “address space Science and Technology challenges through a network of partnered universities” it writes.
“Space Force envisions the institutes will facilitate and focus joint applied research on transformational space domain technology breakthroughs and developments that lead to the advancement of capabilities that can be transitioned and integrated into current and future USSF and U.S. government space capabilities.”
“It is highly desired for the research to lead to testbeds, high fidelity modeling and simulations, demonstrations, and prototypes. The research is expected to transition technology to higher technology readiness levels throughout the period of performance, and out years will be awarded based on an evaluation of this ability.”
Space Force
The USSF’s responsibilities are training, equipping and organising a cadre of space professionals to protect the country and its allied interests in space.
According to the U.S. Department of Defence, its mandate includes developing military space professionals, acquiring military space systems, refining military doctrine for space power, and organizing space forces for use by combatant commands.
The creation of the Space Force, in 2020, marked the first time since 1947, and the US Air Force, that a new military branch had been created in the United States.
See also: Orbital wins $1.7m Space Force contract to manufacture antennas in space
