Photo: Gravitics

Gravitics has received a Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) contract from SpaceWERX, the U.S. Space Force’s innovation arm, to accelerate development and demonstration of its Orbital Carrier architecture, the company said on Thursday.

Under the contract, Gravitics will flight-demonstrate a pathfinder Orbital Carrier on a Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) rideshare mission and a Viper orbital transfer vehicle. The Viper demonstration includes plans to deploy a third-party payload to a high-energy orbit.

“We are proud to develop Orbital Carriers in collaboration with the U.S. Space Force,” Gravitics CEO Colin Doughan said. “On-demand launch from orbit will become indispensable, especially in scenarios where every minute counts.”

Gravitics’ Orbital Carrier architecture is designed to pre-position vehicles in orbit for rapid deployment, similarly to a maritime aircraft carrier. The ability to sequester satellites in orbit can allow an operator to respond to time-sensitive opportunities and bypass typical launch constraints, Gravitics said.

The contract represents an investment of up to $60 million in combined government and private funds, the company said.