The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected Alliant Techsystems [ATK] under a program for harvesting reusable components from orbiting but retired satellites to development the parts for use on other space systems, the company said yesterday.
The work is being done under DARPA’s Tactical Technologies Office (TTO) Phoenix Technologies Program and with the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) as the system integrator. ATK said reusable items include antenna and other functional parts.
The NRL has issued a solicitation announcing it intends to negotiate terms with ATK to modify an existing U.S.-built, U.S. government owned geostationary satellite bus for the Phoenix mission, ATK said.
The satellite bus was originally developed by ATK and is designed to be capable of supporting, for at least a year, robotic rendezvous and proximity operations, and a grapple-and-repair robotic technology demonstration mission, the company said. It is scheduled to be delivered by October 2014 to the NRL for space vehicle integration and testing, ATK said.
ATK was also selected under the Phoenix Technologies Program for the primary robotics effort, the company said.