EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Sept. 18, 2023 – ABL has been selected by Space Systems Command’s Assured Access to Space office for a tactically responsive launch demonstration. The $15 million contract, part of our existing STRATFI contract, complements ABL’s ongoing work for low cost, flexible launch supporting Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS).
“The U.S. Tactically Responsive Space team has pursued the ability to integrate spacecraft within days and launch within hours. ABL’s goal is to expand this capability to multiple sites across the globe,” said Dan Piemont, President at ABL. “Our task under this contract is to maintain readiness at two separate deployed launch sites and receive an order to launch RS1 from the Space Force at either one of them.”
This mission leverages multiple pre-existing collaborative efforts with SSC, AFRL, and AFVentures. RS1 and GS0 were designed to perform the TacRS mission, breaking from the assumption of a pre-defined orbit, trajectory, and launch site.
“We believe this challenge demonstrates the type of flexibility that will be needed to provide an enduring rapid-response launch capability in any scenario. We plan to execute the mission within the next two years,” said Piemont.