DIUx

U.S. military eyes a role in the great power competition for lunar resources
DIU space director Butow: “We have the power where it make sense of leveraging and using public private partnerships to our advantage.”

Report proposes actions to strengthen U.S. space industry and military capabilities
One of the narratives in the report is that the United States is at risk of being displaced by China as the world's space superpower.

Three companies studying “Orbital Outpost” space station concepts for Defense Department
Three companies have received study contracts from a Defense Department agency regarding concepts for small, uncrewed space stations in low Earth orbit, although none of the awards yet fund spacecraft construction.

National security space conference to propose plan to boost industrial base
A group with more than 150 government and industry officials will recommend greater investments in space technology and education.

Space Force-sponsored study to assess capabilities of commercial industry
The RAND Corp. will identify commercial space technologies that the Space Force could put into use as well as the potential risks.

DoD’s technology innovation office seeking bids from U.S. commercial remote sensing vendors
Technologies of interest include synthetic aperture radar, hyperspectral imaging, electro-optical imaging, infrared imaging and radio frequency sensing.

Defense Innovation Unit helping Army find alternatives to GPS
DIU received 25 proposals for the Dismounted Assured PNT System

Defense Innovation Unit seeks stealthy satellite antennas, handheld navigation devices
DIU wants to 'make the process easy for companies that don't have time to answer traditional government solicitations.'

Defense Innovation Unit launches new satellite imagery prize challenge
Competitors have to develop computer vision algorithms to automate the process of assessing building damage after natural disasters.

SpinLaunch joins cadre of small launch companies DoD wants to try out
DIU: We are working with companies like Rocket Lab and Vox which are more mature as well as potentially disruptive ones like SpinLaunch.

Air Force, DoD research organizations call for space industrial policies to counter China
A new report warns of China’s stealth investments in U.S space companies and the country’s coordinated public-private efforts to dominate markets.

DIUx invites traditional and nontraditional defense contractors to build prototypes
In its quest for cutting edge commercial solutions to military problems, the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) is not ignoring the talents of traditional government contractors.

Finnish startup Iceye to supply DoD unit with airborne imagery
Although Iceye is best known for plans to gather Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data with microsatellites, “Iceye has done and continues to do aerial SAR imagery as one of our services,” said Iceye CEO Rafal Modrzewski.

Virgin Orbit wins first Defense Department launch contract
Virgin Orbit announced Nov. 16 that it has received its first launch contract for a LauncherOne mission from a Defense Department agency.

Pentagon’s DIUx unit looks for persistent imagery, small rockets and broadband networks
The U.S. Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx), a group charged with finding cutting-edge technologies to solve national security problems, is looking for space companies to provide persistent Earth observation, responsive launch capabilities and something like an Internet in space.