The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been tasked with providing recommendations to the Pentagon for establishing a proposed agency that would lead efforts to build and acquire space technologies for the military, Space News reported Thursday.
DARPA will study the process and approach for the Space Development Agency following a directive by Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin. In a memo sent to top defense officials, Griffin said he expects DARPA to complete the study in 45 to 60 days and focus on the requirements for a low-earth orbit communications transport layer and on the space capabilities outlined in the Department of Defense’s Space Vision.
The main tasks of the Space Development Agency include:
• Persistent global surveillance for advanced missile targeting
• Indications, warning, targeting and tracking for defense against advanced missile threats
• Alternate positioning, navigation and timing for a GPS-denied environment
• Global and near-real time space situational awareness
• Development of deterrent capability
• Responsive, resilient, common ground-based space support infrastructures
• Cross-domain, networked, node-independent battle management command, control and communications, including nuclear command, control and communications
• Highly-scaled, low-latency, persistent, artificial intelligence-enabled global surveillance
Fred Kennedy, director of DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office, will lead the study.
