SpaceWERX, in partnership with Space Safari, is pleased to announce the 19 awardees of the 2023 SpaceWERX Tactically Responsive Space Challenge! The TacRS Challenge generates cutting-edge ideas and state-of-the-art capabilities that will enable the United States Space Force to more rapidly and flexibly respond to emerging on-orbit threats by 2026. “The TacRS Challenge SBIR Direct to Phase II contracts are going to propel the U.S. Space Force toward future responsive and dynamic space operations,” said Col Erik Stockham, USSF Space Systems Command (SSC/SZA). “The future of space power requires capabilities that can respond to adversary action on tactical timelines. These innovative small businesses are developing groundbreaking approaches to employ space capabilities when and where it counts.” “The TacRS SpaceWERX Challenge shows how impactful the collaboration with our mission owners can be. We’re thrilled to have supported the TacRS program team on what is clearly going to be an impressive cohort of companies and technologies.” said Lt. Col. Vinny Pande, Chief of SpaceWERX Ventures. 232 companies submitted 302 proposals in response to the TacRS Open Innovation Challenge in Aug., a SBIR solicitation open to innovators from industry, academia, and government with solutions to solve identified problems. SpaceWERX will award up to $1.7M to each of the below SBIR Phase II companies, totaling $32.3M with a 15-month period-of-performance. ◾ Agile Space Industries, Inc. ◾ Apex Technology, Inc. ◾ Argo Space Corp. ◾ Circle Optics, Inc. ◾ Gravitics, Inc. ◾ Impulse Space, Inc. (two awards) ◾ K2 Space Corporation ◾ Map Large, Inc. ◾ PickNik, Inc. ◾ Portal Space Systems Inc. ◾ SCOUT Inc. ◾ Space Rig Systems Inc. ◾ Starfish Space ◾ Ten One Aerospace, LLC ◾ True Anomaly, Inc. ◾ Turion Space Corp. ◾ Varda Space Industries ◾ Xtenti, LLC Join us in congratulating our TacRS awardees! . . . #AFWERX #SpaceWERX #TacRS #SpaceWERXChallenge #funding #award #orbit #space #technology #innovation
Nice work to all these forward leaning innovators. The future is bright with creative minds like these.
We are proud and excited for the opportunity to work with this team. Thanks to SpaceWERX! See you all next week
Big Congrats to the winners advancing ##spacetechnology. -GSP-
Congrats Circle Optics, Inc. and SCOUT Space
Congrats to all the recipients! And a great example of USG creating more flexible on-ramps to industry partnership.
Let's go Circle Optics, Inc.!
Jason Westphal , so excited to see Ten One Aerospace on this list! Congratulations!!
Congratulations Jeff Thornburg and the entire team at Portal Space Systems 👏🙌
President @ Turion Space (S21)
9moCongratulations to everyone!! The real fun challenge we look forward to working with yall on is the overarching problem statement that is TacRS, which will require necessary coordination to pull off the logistics challenge. I believe the capability is worth the complexity though. I imagine everyone in the TacRS network will eventually have a big red button in their facility and will call a hotline when they are about to move through a stage which will deem them unable to deliver on the timeline (eg about to integrate a commercial payload on their bus). They'll get a go/no-go on the hotline, then press the button and begin their SOP, while being removed from the pool until they press the button again. Hopefully in the longterm we'd have a large enough industrial base to avoid that sort of strategy.