DARPA’s Blackjack: Autonomous LEO Satellite Constellation Merging Commercial and Military Microsatellites for Enhanced Space Security

Rajesh Uppal 3 days ago Industry, Space Comments Off on DARPA’s Blackjack: Autonomous LEO Satellite Constellation Merging Commercial and Military Microsatellites for Enhanced Space Security 2,551 Views

Historically, Department of Defense (DoD) satellites have been custom-designed for specific missions, resulting in lengthy design and enhancement cycles and high costs per spacecraft. However, the renaissance of commercial space has introduced the potential for economies of scale through the design and manufacturing of numerous low Earth orbit (LEO) constellations. DARPA is keen to leverage these advances to demonstrate unique military utility.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is making significant strides with its groundbreaking Blackjack program, which aims to revolutionize national security space (NSS) capabilities by deploying a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). This initiative seeks to replace the costly and vulnerable assets currently operating in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) with a more resilient and cost-effective LEO network.

The Benefits of Smallsats in LEO

Traditional reconnaissance relies on large, expensive satellites stationed in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) – a distance of about 22,300 miles above Earth. While these behemoths offer a persistent view, they are also vulnerable targets and take years to replace if destroyed. Blackjack takes a different approach, utilizing a constellation of smaller, more affordable satellites in LEO, just a few hundred miles up.

For military, small satellites (Smallsats) in LEO offer numerous benefits:

Low Cost: Smallsats enable affordable satellite constellations with minimal personnel and logistics requirements. They also provide opportunities for frequent technology refreshes.
Rapid Deployment: The smaller size and streamlined design of Blackjack satellites enable quicker construction and launch compared to traditional systems.
Agility and Flexibility: The constellation approach allows for greater flexibility in deploying and maneuvering satellites to meet evolving needs.
High Survivability: Operating far above common threats and crowded airspace, Smallsats have enhanced survivability. Constellations degrade gracefully, allowing lost capabilities to be rapidly augmented and reconstituted.
ASAT Attack Resistance: Anti-satellite (ASAT) attacks are challenging because microsatellites present very small targets. Large networks of small, inexpensive satellites, derived from commercial technology, would be harder for adversaries like China or Russia to neutralize compared to a few expensive, large military satellites. The cost-effectiveness of ASAT engagements also favors the use of numerous small satellites.

Enhanced Responsiveness and Adaptability

Smaller, lower-cost satellites, built and launched frequently, make it easier to reconstitute space capabilities and introduce new technologies. These satellites can be rapidly designed, built, and tasked from theater, allowing for better adaptation to emerging threats. The larger number of satellites complicates an adversary’s decision-making and increases the uncertainty of outcomes. New countermeasures can also be added as corresponding threat systems are developed and fielded.

DARPA’s Blackjack Program

The Blackjack program, a joint technology demonstration project by DARPA and the U.S. Space Force, aims to evaluate the utility and operational concepts of a large-scale proliferated LEO satellite constellation. By incorporating commercial sector advances in LEO, including designs used for broadband internet service, the Blackjack Program seeks to demonstrate that a constellation of LEO satellites can meet DoD performance and payload requirements at a significantly lower cost, with shorter design cycles and easier, more frequent technology upgrades.

The Blackjack program is exploring advancements in:

Satellite Design: These satellites will be built with miniaturized sensors and advanced electronics, maximizing functionality within a compact frame.
Autonomous Operations: The constellation will leverage on-board AI and machine learning to enable autonomous decision-making and data analysis.
High-Speed Networking: Developing a robust and secure network for communication between the satellites and ground stations is crucial for efficient data transmission.

DARPA Director Walker emphasizes the need for the DoD to shift future spending to constellations of small satellites in LEO. This approach promises greater resilience and affordability compared to traditional, large, and costly military satellites. Larger constellations can support multiple missions and potentially enable a battle management system for tactical warfare on the ground. Both the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) and the Space Development Agency (SDA) are planning to transition Blackjack’s technology into their acquisition programs.

Scalable Architecture

While the BAA will seek to demonstrate a smaller subset of satellites, for a full understanding of the future vision the operational (long-term) design reference mission is for a tens-of-satellites (60-200) constellation operating between 500km and 1,300km altitude with one or more payloads on each satellite.

Each satellite is envisioned to have a recurring cost, including launch, of less than $6M. Blackjack satellites, nicknamed “satlets,” are envisioned to be about the size of a large shoebox, weighing roughly 50 kilograms (110 lbs). This compact design allows for more affordable launches using rideshare missions.

DARPA envisions increasing the number of satellites in a given functional layer from a demonstration level (e.g., 20 nodes, sufficient to provide extended coverage over a geographic region for several hours) to a fully-capable constellation of hundreds of nodes providing constant custody of points of interest worldwide. Scalable architectures more easily accommodate greater numbers of satellite nodes without degradation to tasking, collection, processing, and data dissemination functions – Pit Boss will be expected to provide data products on short timelines to thousands of subscribers simultaneously.

Finally, Blackjack will leverage open architecture standards and system controls permitting easy insertion of third-party software and hardware elements, including space-based payloads and hosted applications, communications equipment, and surface-based user devices and software. Satellite Integration performers will be expected to provide the flexibility to enable iterative development of Blackjack elements by all developers.

Scaling-up in this fashion should not require different software or a new cloud network architecture. Finally, adaptable architectures are those that leverage open architecture standards and system controls permitting easy insertion of third-party software and hardware elements, including space-based payloads and hosted applications, communications equipment, and surface-based user devices and software.

The key program objectives are:

Develop payload and mission-level autonomy software and demonstrate autonomous orbital operations including on-orbit distributed decision processors.

It is envisioned that Blackjack spacecraft would operate near, or proliferated co-orbitally within a commercial constellation with communications and operations provided by the commercial constellation. Blackjack satellites will not be an integral or required element of the commercial constellation and can operate independently. A single operations center will cover all satellites/payloads irrespective of the payload(s) on each satellite, and the constellation will be capable of operating without the operations center for 30 days. The operations center will be manned by no more than two people whose primary function is setting constellation level priorities. Blackjack payload data processing will be performed on-orbit without the assistance of ground data processing.

Blackjack Pit Boss segment will provide Satellite and Constellation autonomy.

For Pit Boss, DARPA researchers will want industry proposals on artificial intelligence software to support constellation and satellite autonomy; massively distributed computing; precision timing; high-assurance cyber solutions; low-cost on-orbit processing hardware; space cryptographic solutions; and system and mission integration services.

The Blackjack Pit Boss segment of the program consists of developing an avionics box and computing node — also called an edge processor — which includes hosted autonomy software with artificial intelligence; dynamically distributed computing dispersed among hundreds to thousands of nodes; precision timing; low SWaP-C space processing hardware; embedded cyber security; cryptographic solutions; mission integration; and spacecraft integration.

DARPA expects the Pit Boss network to incorporate advances in constellation command and control, health monitoring and remediation, inter-and intra-satellite data management, and on-orbit resource scheduling for hundreds (and eventually thousands) of DoD satellite nodes, with minimal human intervention.

Pit Boss will perform target hand-off among satellites surveilling a given geographic region, as individual P-LEO nodes will be continuously entering and exiting these regions due not only to (1) the high velocities of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) nodes relative to a ground position, but also due to (2) differences in altitude, payload phenomenology, footprint, and fields of view. Active nodes surveilling a geographic region at any given time define an “instantaneous orbital observation group.”

DARPA is interested in artificial intelligence software that can capitalize on multiple-modality sensor webs and exploit space-based mesh networks to move critical data quickly to platforms, units, and other elements at the tactical edge. This includes a dynamic and evolving ability to detect, identify, and track physical targets based on training data, tasking inputs, and learning, as well as an ability to hand-off target data to other satellites in the mesh network. This could be more difficult than it sounds. Satellites that detect targets must maintain constant custody of these targets, and to do so even when several individual satellites are compromised or are unable to join or rejoin the network.

These satellites must be of low size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C), and have heterogeneous processing hardware that includes general purpose processors (GPP), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and graphics processing units (GPUs) suitable for a LEO environment. Satellite also will need low SWaP-C space-qualified cryptography for routable multi-level security for commoditized satellite buses with military payloads.

Pit Boss will be electronically situated between the payloads and the spacecraft bus, providing electrical, timing, and network connectivity for each payload, and provide packet routing between the payloads, the networked Blackjack spacecraft constellation nodes, the broader commercial spacecraft constellation nodes, and ground terminals. Pit Boss edge processors also will provide cyber protection and data encryption and decryption for secure communications across the networked elements, as well as provide payload management, payload power switching, tasking, and scheduling, satellite resource management, constellation management, clocking, and timing.

These satellites must be able to identify subscribers that need fast targeting information and ensure that critical data gets to them quickly. This will involve approaches to ensure data integrity, authentication of subscribers, and maintain low network latency. The Pit Boss edge processor will be on-orbit the Blackjack computational, cryptographic, timing node hosted aboard all Blackjack satellites.

Develop and implement advanced commercial manufacturing for military payloads and the spacecraft bus.

Blackjack will emphasize the marriage of commoditized busses and low-cost interchangeable payloads with short design cycles and frequent technology upgrades. DARPA had launched a program called Blackjack in 2018 and invited companies to pitch ideas on:, “How to leverage the commercial sector at LEO, how we leverage the manufacturing of smaller cheaper satellite buses, and looking at how we put our payloads into those more affordable buses,” Walker said. Under Blackjack, DARPA hopes to have successfully launched 20 demonstration satellites with a variety of experimental payloads based on a ‘standardized’ commercially-provided satellite bus by the end of fiscal 2022, according to the agency’s website. DARPA asked for $25 million for the project in FY2020, up from $16.4 million the previous year.

DARPA expects the Blackjack architecture to be extensible, easily integrating multiple types of commoditized satellite buses with a wide range of militarily relevant payloads supporting a variety of potential missions (e.g., detection, characterization, and tracking of advanced missile threats; alternate, high-accuracy positioning, navigation, and timing; and space based surface moving target indication). Each pairing of a specific bus and one or more payloads (e.g., an infrared camera and its host satellite) will define a node in a particular functional constellation layer. Incorporating different pairings of a bus and one or more payloads, other functional layers may be rapidly deployed and integrated without modifying the architecture.

DARPA will be soliciting innovative proposals in the following technical area(s): low cost, mass reproducible, space payloads and commoditized satellite buses. Proposed research will investigate:

(1) Payload approaches that enable revolutionary improvements in size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C), providing military utility from a globally proliferated low earth orbit (LEO) constellation; and

(2) Commoditized satellite buses capable of hosting military payloads assuming their primary commercial payloads with space and/or ground network connectivity are not installed

Commoditized Bus

DARPA will be seeking a commoditized satellite bus offering various payload options, along with constellation communication services and architecture services. The bus is expected to be as identical as possible to a commercial bus. “We’ll be taking various types of payloads — for communications, missile defense, PNT [positioning, navigation, timing] and ISR [intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance] — and evaluate how each payload could fly without having to redesign the bus.”

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative proposals for Blackjack Satellite Integration. Under the Blackjack program, DARPA is contemplating a broad range of commercial satellite buses and military payloads and desires an approach that supports pairing any of the Blackjack commodity buses with any Blackjack payload, as late as possible in the design process.

We want buses that will not require redesign when a new payload shows up, which gets us to the rapid integration model we’re going after. We will likely want a small bus for a dedicated mission, and also a medium or larger bus where we can put two or three payloads and host a Pit Boss data processor, said Paul “Rusty” Thomas.

DARPA is interested in low SWaP-C (Size, Weight, and Power, plus Cost) payloads that provide military utility when flown in a distributed LEO constellation. Mission areas of interest include missile detection, missile defense, position, navigation, and timing (PNT) services, and multiple radio frequency applications.

Demonstrate payloads in LEO to augment NSS assets.

The Blackjack demonstration program will investigate the incorporation of multiple functional layers and payload phenomenologies into a unified data collection and distribution architecture. These layers are expected to include overhead persistent infrared (OPIR) sensors, Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) payloads for Global Positioning System (GPS) augmentation, radio frequency (RF) and optical communications, including direct connectivity with tactical users from low earth orbit (LEO), multiple tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance payloads, and all-weather, multi-domain asset geolocation, identification, characterization, and tracking.

The driver will be to show LEO performance that is on par with current systems in geosynchronous orbit with the spacecraft combined bus, payload(s), and launch costs under $6 million per orbital node while the payloads meet size, weight, and power constraints of the commercial bus.

Overall, Blackjack seeks to develop enabling technologies for a global high-speed network backbone operating in LEO that enables networked, resilient, and persistent military satellite payloads that provide infinite over-the-horizon sensing, signals, and communications capabilities. The Blackjack program will emphasize a commoditized bus and low-cost interchangeable payloads with short design cycles and frequent technology upgrades, based on a ‘good enough’ payloads optimized for more than one type of bus.

Achievements

The core objective of the Blackjack program is to replace expensive and vulnerable NSS assets in GEO with a constellation of interconnected satellites in LEO. This new configuration is designed to provide the Department of Defense (DoD) with highly connected, resilient, and persistent coverage. By harnessing advancements in commercial LEO constellations, the program aims to significantly enhance the DoD’s space capabilities.

In July 2021, DARPA successfully deployed two Mandrake 2 satellites as part of the SpaceX Transporter 2 launch. These satellites, Able and Baker, are functioning well and progressing through checkout and commissioning. The Mandrake 2 mission aims to prove advanced laser communications technologies, representing a game-changing advancement for proliferated space architectures.

Successful Launch: Marking a major milestone, the first four Blackjack satellites were successfully launched on a SpaceX rideshare mission in June 2023. These initial satellites are undergoing commissioning and orbit-raising procedures.

Scalability and Open Architecture

The Blackjack program envisions a scalable architecture, accommodating from 60 to 200 satellites operating between 500 km and 1,300 km altitude. Each satellite is expected to have a recurring cost, including launch, of less than $6 million. The program aims to leverage open architecture standards and system controls, permitting easy insertion of third-party software and hardware elements, including space-based payloads and hosted applications.

DARPA seeks proposals on artificial intelligence software for constellation and satellite autonomy, massively distributed computing, precision timing, high-assurance cyber solutions, low-cost on-orbit processing hardware, space cryptographic solutions, and system and mission integration services. The Pit Boss segment of the program involves developing an avionics box and computing node, hosting autonomy software with AI, dynamically distributed computing, and embedded cyber security.

Collaboration and Industry Involvement

DARPA has awarded contracts to numerous vendors to supply satellite buses, payloads, and the Pit Boss autonomy system. For instance, Raytheon’s SEAKR Engineering successfully demonstrated on-orbit optical inter-satellite links between the Mandrake 2 satellites. This achievement highlights the program’s rapid satellite development timeline.

Airbus, partnering with OneWeb Satellites, and other companies like Mynaric, Telesat, and Trident Systems, are collaborating with DARPA to develop modular constellations and laser communication terminals. These partnerships aim to establish common standards and interoperability within the Blackjack program and beyond.

Strategic Partnerships and Technological Developments

In addition to Airbus, several other companies are contributing to the Blackjack program. For instance, Mynaric has been selected by Telesat to supply its flagship CONDOR optical inter-satellite link terminals, demonstrating the growing importance of laser communication in proliferated space architectures. Mynaric’s efforts include establishing the industry’s first laser communication interoperability lab in Los Angeles, which will serve as a hub for testing interoperability among different vendors.

Airbus to Develop Satellite Bus for DARPA’s Blackjack Program

Airbus has been awarded a contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a satellite bus for the innovative Blackjack program. This initiative aims to establish a resilient network of commercial satellites equipped with military sensors in low-Earth orbit (LEO).

The satellite bus, a critical component of each spacecraft, will be responsible for generating power, controlling attitude, providing propulsion, transmitting spacecraft telemetry, and accommodating military sensors. “Constellations of inexpensive satellites permit wide-scale disaggregated architectures, enhancing survivability across many different mission areas,” Airbus noted in a press release.

Airbus is partnering with Florida-based OneWeb Satellites to manufacture modular constellations. This collaboration leverages Airbus’s substantial investment in high-rate manufacturing technology and supply chain logistics, aimed at building large constellations of small satellites.

“Airbus has previously co-invested hundreds of millions of dollars in high-rate manufacturing technology and supply chain logistics to build large constellations of small satellites,” said Tim Deaver, Director of U.S. Space Programs at Airbus Defense and Space. “Our government customers can leverage this commercial capability to develop LEO constellations that complement large existing systems.”

Blue Canyon Technologies and SEAKR Engineering

Blue Canyon Technologies has been awarded multiple contracts to produce satellite buses and payloads for the Blackjack program. The company’s customized X-SAT bus will include state-of-the-art electric propulsion, a robust power system, and dedicated payload interfaces, designed to support the rapid deployment of Blackjack’s satellite constellation.

Leveraging Blue Canyon Technologies’ Saturn-class bus platform, the Blackjack program has recently achieved critical milestones. These successes mark a significant step forward in DARPA’s vision for a global high-speed network in LEO, setting the stage for the project’s next phase and moving closer to transforming NSS operations.

BCT’s swift commissioning of multiple spacecraft under the Blackjack program is a notable achievement, demonstrating its capability to develop and implement advanced commercial manufacturing for military payloads and spacecraft buses. Additionally, BCT has developed payload and mission-level autonomy software, showcasing autonomous orbital operations.

SEAKR Engineering, leading the Pit Boss project, aims to develop an autonomous mission management system capable of self-tasking, processing, and distributing tactically relevant information to users without human input. The Mandrake I and II missions, part of SEAKR’s contributions, are set to validate key technologies and advance laser communications.

Challenges and Considerations

While the Blackjack program holds immense promise, some technical challenges remain:

Managing a Constellation: Coordinating maneuvers and data flow for a large number of satellites requires robust control systems and efficient software.
Radiation Effects: The harsh environment of LEO can damage electronics. Blackjack satellites will need proper shielding and mitigation strategies.
Space Debris Mitigation: Adding more satellites to orbit raises concerns about space debris. Blackjack will likely incorporate features like end-of-life deorbiting maneuvers to minimize debris buildup.

Future Prospects and Global Impact

The key objectives of the Blackjack program include demonstrating LEO performance that matches or exceeds current GEO systems, with combined bus, payload, and launch costs kept under $6 million per orbital node. The program emphasizes low-cost, interchangeable payloads with short design cycles and frequent technology upgrades..

The Blackjack program is described by DARPA as an architecture demonstration, showcasing the military utility of global LEO constellations and mesh networks characterized by lower size, weight, and cost. DARPA plans to procure commercial satellite buses and pair them with military sensors and payloads to demonstrate this concept.

The Future of Space-Based Intelligence

The DARPA Blackjack program holds immense potential for the future of space-based reconnaissance. By leveraging a constellation of smaller, more agile satellites and cutting-edge technologies, Blackjack aims to deliver:

Enhanced Situational Awareness: Faster data collection and analysis will provide a clearer picture of global activities.
Improved Responsiveness: The ability to rapidly redeploy satellites allows for quicker reaction times to emerging threats.
Reduced Vulnerability: The distributed nature of the constellation makes it less susceptible to single point failures or attacks.

DARPA’s Blackjack program seeks to deploy up to 20 spacecraft in LEO, connected by optical inter-satellite links to provide advanced communications, missile tracking, and navigation services. This initiative represents a significant shift in military satellite technology, leveraging commercial advancements to achieve cost-effective, scalable, and resilient satellite constellations.

DARPA aims to deploy 20 demonstration satellites by 2022, showcasing the resilience and affordability of LEO systems compared to traditional geosynchronous satellites. The ultimate goal is to create a global high-speed network backbone in LEO, enabling networked, resilient, and persistent military satellite payloads with advanced sensing, signals, and communications capabilities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, DARPA’s Blackjack program represents a significant shift in military satellite technology, leveraging commercial advancements to achieve cost-effective, scalable, and resilient satellite constellations. Through collaborative efforts with industry leaders like OneWeb Satellites and Mynaric, and the innovative contributions of companies like Blue Canyon Technologies and SEAKR Engineering, the Blackjack program aims to demonstrate the transformative power of proliferated LEO constellations. This approach promises enhanced resilience, affordability, and adaptability, ensuring the DoD’s capabilities remain robust in an increasingly contested space environment.

References and resources also include:

https://spacenews.com/loft-orbital-satellite-to-carry-experiment-for-darpas-blackjack-program/

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=56468