DARPA Advances In-Space Manufacturing with Caltech and UIUC, NASA Enhances Core Flight System, and BlackSky to Launch Gen-3 Satellite

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) to lead the final phase of its Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass-efficient Design (NOM4D) program. This initiative aims to overcome size and weight limitations imposed by rocket cargo fairings for constructing large-scale space structures. Caltech will demonstrate autonomous robotic construction in low-Earth orbit by February 2026, while UIUC will focus on innovative materials and manufacturing processes on the International Space Station by April 2026. NASA is preparing a significant update to its core Flight System (cFS), a reusable software used for 20 years. A government-only version with enhanced security, AI, robotics support, and autonomy features will be released in mid-2025. An updated open-source version will follow. NASA cFS 2.0 will offer plug-and-play capabilities for in-space robotics, cybersecurity, and onboard machine learning. BlackSky is set to launch its most advanced Earth observation satellite, the Gen-3 series, as early as next week. This satellite will provide high-resolution 35-centimeter imagery and feature inter-satellite laser links. The launch, aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from New Zealand, aims to strengthen BlackSky's position in the remote sensing market. The Gen-3 satellite includes short-wave infrared sensors and the ability to conduct multiple daily observations of the same location.