The Defense Innovation Unit has selected Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to provide a new monolithic telescope for a responsive space mission, which Firefly Aerospace will launch as early as 2027.
LLNL said Thursday the monolithic telescope includes two optical telescopes and an electronics module with an NVIDIA processor and is designed to be robust and highly adaptable for a range of optical payload configurations and missions. It is expected to be completed and delivered within 13 months. Firefly Aerospace will host and operate the device on board its Elytra orbital vehicle, which will be deployed to low Earth orbit, under a cooperative research and development agreement.
New Space Capabilities for DOD
Benjamin Bahney, LLNL’s space program leader, said the mission “will prove a new capability for future highly maneuverable, responsive in-space imaging missions for the U.S. Defense Department in a variety of possible orbits including in deep space and into the lunar regime.”
The anticipated space event will mark LLNL’s third mission to develop rapid space payloads for the Department of Defense, following the Tactically Responsive Launch-2 mission in 2021 and the Victus Haze mission expected for liftoff as early as 2025. It will support the DIU’s Sinequone project aimed at delivering cost-effective, responsive access to xGEO orbits located a little more than 22,000 miles above the Earth.
“We are thrilled to be selected by DIU for this mission, continuing LLNL’s work to supply the Defense Department with our monolith payloads to support responsive space missions and prove out new capabilities for defense of the space domain,” said John Ganino, LLNL’s space hardware lead.
Related Articles
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday voted 26-3 to pass a bill that would appropriate $851.9 billion in discretionary defense funding for fiscal year 2026. Weapons Systems Procurement The committee said Thursday the proposed FY 2026 Defense Appropriations Act would allocate $171.3 billion for weapon systems procurement and $140.5 billion for platform research, development and testing. The measure includes a $280 million increase in funding for F-135 spare engines and an additional $500 million for F-35 sustainment spare parts; an additional $216 million for drone and counter-drone tech capabilities; $4.6 billion more for air and missile defense efforts; and a
NASA wants to team up with industry to develop advanced space technologies for future commercial or government use. The space agency on Wednesday issued an announcement of collaboration opportunity, or ACO, to solicit partnership proposals. Managed by the Space Technology Mission Directorate, the ACO gives industry partners access to NASA subject matter expertise, facilities, software and hardware to accelerate and enhance capability development. According to NASA, the ACO will be open for five years and will serve as an umbrella opportunity for topic-specific appendices that would be released every six to 12 months to address evolving needs. For the 2025
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., head of the Department of Health and Human Services, and other government and healthcare technology leaders have committed to delivering a patient-centric digital health ecosystem. At an event hosted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at the White House, over 60 companies pledged to collaborate and deliver results that benefit the public in the first quarter of 2026. Meanwhile, 11 health systems and providers said they will support patient use. Seven electronic health record companies pledged to facilitate data exchange. According to Kennedy, bureaucrats and entrenched interests have made health data inaccessible to patients,