BlueHalo to Develop Next Generation Space Domain Solutions for AFRL

Five separate cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts have been awarded by AFRL, totalling over $130 million with an available ceiling of over $400 million. By Joseph Macey / 31 Dec 2020

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BlueHalo, along with its recent acquisition of ATA, has received five contract awards from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate for the development of next generation Space Domain solutions.

Four of those contracts were awarded under the AFRL’s rapid acquisition capability called Space Technology Advanced Research (STAR) and one was a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award. The five cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts total over $130 million with an available ceiling of over $400 million.

In August, the company was awarded the Heterogeneous Optical W/V-band Demonstration (HOWD) contract, which will provide a communication system with two-way time transfer operating within W/V-bands and incorporating Free Space Optical links.

The company’s second STAR award came in September and was for the Surveillance, Intelligence, and Reconnaissance Enhanced Network (SIREN) contract offering autonomous, multi-modal, space-based sensing capabilities for persistent tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

In October, they received an additional STAR award in the form of the Space Logistics Assembly Disassembly Experiment with Swarms (SLADES) contract as well as a Phase III SBIR award for the Launch Assessment Threat Indicators and Notifications (LATIN) contract, which will increase the capabilities of space situational awareness, battle management command and control and defensive counter space.

BlueHalo’s most recent contract award, announced in early December, is for the Survivability, Attribution, and Self-Sensing Integrated Experiment (SASSIE) contract, which will provide for onboard spacecraft self-sensing, attribution, and autonomous operations capabilities for tactical and strategic missions. Work will be performed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is expected to be completed in 2026.

“These contract awards represent the unparalleled subject matter expertise and technology driven solutions our employees bring to the Nation’s critical space domain and the deepening partnership with a core AFRL Space Directorate customer,” said Jonathan Moneymaker, CEO of BlueHalo. “Through the success of our team’s efforts, we are developing capabilities that have never existed for our warfighters and extending contract backlog, which will fuel investment for the next generation of capabilities.”

Posted by Joseph Macey Connect & Contact

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