AFRL Awards Pacific Defense Phase II Contract to Complete Moonraker Development

El Segundo, California-based Pacific Defense has announced a 39-month, $9.4 million Phase II contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Control Technology Branch to finish work on the Moonraker system.

Intended for a cislunar space situational awareness mission, Moonraker is a low size, weight and power sensor built with a modular open systems approach, Pacific Defense said Wednesday.

Once delivered, the system is expected to proceed to an on-orbit demonstration.

Pacific Defense said work will involve software-defined radio and graphics processing unit technology and an open software framework encompassing first and third-party SSA applications.

Bryan Terlecky, the company’s vice president of space systems, stated that Moonraker’s development will show how an open architecture approach expedites development.

Meanwhile, Brian Engberg, the chief of AFRL’s Space Control Technology Branch, said the system will support safety and transparency in cislunar space.

Pacific Defense secured a two-year contract from the branch in 2022 to work on Moonraker.