Boeing Satellite Systems in El Segundo, California, has won a $13.8 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for Phase 2 of the Fast Access Spacecraft Testbed (FAST) satellite power generation and propulsion program.

The objective of the FAST program is the development and demonstration of a high power generation and propulsion system for mobile satellites. DARPA’s FAST program is a multiphase effort to design and develop a ground test prototype of a new High Power Generation Subsystem (HPGS) for mobile satellites. The HPGS integrates solar-concentrator, power-conversion, and heat-rejection satellite systems supported by a lightweight structure and deployment system for tracking the sun. When combined with electric thrusters, the HPGS will produce a lightweight power and propulsion system. This system will be capable of providing responsive spacecraft maneuverability for on-orbit servicing, space-based situational awareness, and high-power payloads, such as communication and radar systems. The HPGS would be able to generate as much as 50-80 kw for operational users at high power levels (130 W/kg or better). Boeing was awarded the Phase 1 contract, in which the company developed a plan for a FAST demonstration system. Phase 2 work will include fabrication, assembly and testing of two HPGS prototypes to validate performance characteristics in simulated space environments. An on-orbit demonstration of the system may be conducted following the ground test program.