Reimagining the Satellite Industry with Rapid Automated Satellite Design & HITL Manufacturing

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA, December 19, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — Today, Proteus Space announced AFWERX has selected it and its research partner, UC Davis Center for Spaceflight Research, for a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract focused on Rapid Automated New Satellite Bus Design and Digital Twin Interoperability to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF).

The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small businesses and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution.

The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018, which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded, and now, Proteus Space will continue its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities to strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.

“The SBIR/STTR program is amazing,” said Proteus CEO David Kervin. “Proteus Space is now eligible for a direct, sole source Phase III, unlimited funding contract with a variety of DoD dollars and R&D funding. We continue to see large SBIR/STTR phase III awards to companies as the most innovative Defense end users become more aware of the power of this type of contracting. We’re pleased to be working with Dr. Stephen Robinson and the UC Davis Center for Spaceflight Research on this effort, utilizing their deep expertise in space vehicle-centric digital modeling and simulation.”

“We were impressed by the team from Proteus Space the moment we met them at a Techstars LA event,” said Craig Cummings, General Partner at Moonshots Capital and a Proteus Board of Directors member. “We are confident their extraordinary leadership, technical concepts, mission focus, domain expertise, and determined resolve will carry the company to success.”

“The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.”

About Proteus Space
Proteus is developing an end-to-end, fully automated, AI-enabled system to rapidly design payload-tailored satellites in just 30 days. This is a remarkable 18x improvement over the industry standard, all with less risk than a standardized satellite bus. Earlier this year, Proteus opened its first automated satellite design and hardware in the loop assembly facility in downtown Los Angeles. This end-to-end in-house capability ensures Proteus can cater to a wide range of satellite design/build needs for commercial and government customers, all under one roof.

About AFRL
The Air Force Research Laboratory is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 12,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit afresearchlab.com

About AFWERX
As the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. AFWERX employs approximately 325 military, civilian, and contractor personnel at six hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4 billion budget. Since 2019, AFWERX has executed 4,697 contracts worth more than $2.6 billion to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: afwerx.com.

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