FALCON Program Phase I Contractors Selected

Released on Friday, November 14, 2003

The US Air Force and DARPA have selected 9 contractors for the first phase Task 1 Small Launch Vehicle (SLV) of FALCON program and 3 contractors were selected for Task 2 Hypersonic Weapon Systems.

Each contractor will conduct a 6 month system definition study within its respective task. Afterwards, DARPA and the US Air Force will decide whether to proceed with phase II involving a 36 month system design and development effort.

FALCON phase I Task 1 contractors will receive between $350,000 and $540,000 each. While FALCON program phase I Task 2 contractors will receive between $1.2 million and $1.5 million each.

Phase I Task 1 contractors: AirLaunch LLC, Andrews Space Inc., Exquadrum Inc., KT Engineering, Lockheed-Martin Corp., Microcosm Inc., Orbital Sciences Corp., Schafer Corp., and Space Exploration Technologies.

Phase I Task 2 contractors: Andrews Space Inc., Lockheed-Martin Corp., and Northrop-Grumman Corp.

The FALCON (Force Application and Launch from the CONtinental US) program intends to develop technologies that will enable both near-term (2010) and far-term (2025) capability to execute prompt global strike missions, while at the same time demonstrating affordable and responsible space lift.

The FALCON Phase I Task 1 focuses on a launch vehicle (SLV) capable of placing a small satellite or other payload weighing about 1,000 pound into a low Earth orbit at a total launch cost of less than $5 million.

The FALCON Phase I Task 2 will focus on a hypersonic glider acting as a munition delivery system named CAV (Common Aero Vehicle) to be released from space, and the reusable Hypersonic Cruise Vehicle (HCV) capable of hitting any target worldwide in less than two hours.