The U.S. Air Force Laboratory has awarded Aduril Industries and Blue Origin with new contracts to study ways for the U.S. military to use rockets to deliver cargo “anywhere on the planet” in less than an hour.
In a statement obtained by SpaceNews.com, Daniel Brown, the program manager for the Rocket Experimentation for Global Agile Logistics program, confirmed that the Air Force Research Laboratory recently awarded Blue Origin with a $1.3 million contract and Anduril with a $1 million contract as part of the Rocket Experimentation for Global Agile Logistics program.
In a notice on SAM.gov regarding the Rocket Experimentation for Global Agile Logistics program, officials announced that the Air Force is “is exploring point-to-point space transportation capability for DOD logistics.”
“Based on the advertised commercial capability and business objectives for point-to-point space transportation, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is currently assessing emerging commercial rocket capability under the DAF Rocket Cargo Vanguard program, and the potential to quickly transport DOD materiel to ports across the globe,” officials added.
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According to the government website, the Rocket Experimentation for Global Agile Logistics program is planning to study “commercially-advertised rocket launch systems for rapid point-to-point (PTP) space transportation and agile global logistics.” The program is aiming to develop the ability to transport cargo from the Department of War to “anywhere on the planet” in under an hour through various contracts.
Officials confirmed that the anticipated missions of the rocket cargo program include providing disaster and humanitarian relief, supplying emergency resources for “loss of mission capability,” and affordable transportation for Department of War cargo to various ports around the globe.
According to SpaceNews.com, Blue Origin is expected to study how the company’s spacecraft could be adapted to conduct “point-to-point” transportation by launching cargo from a rocket at a specific location and deploying cargo at different locations.
On the other hand, SpaceNews.com reported that Brown confirmed Anduril’s contract is for “design and analysis to integrate multiple potential government payloads into a rocket cargo delivery container or reentry system.”
