SpaceWERX to Hold New Workshop for Potential Funding on Space Research Projects

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has announced that the SpaceWERX unit of its AFWERX division will hold its second Challenge Definition Workshop in June, which will open potential funding opportunities for collaborative projects on the workshop topic, “Sustained Space Maneuver.” 

The first workshop, held in July and focused on Tactically Responsive Space, culminated in SpaceWERX’s inaugural Innovate to Accelerate program, wherein 18 companies secured contracts for 19 joint projects with $30 million in government funding. The projects are all geared to provide the U.S. Space Force with solutions to improve its orbital defense by 2026, the AFRL said Tuesday.

The new concepts generated in the Challenge Definition Workshop will move to the 12A program, a free, three-month educational course for TacRS Small Business Innovation Research contractors.

SpaceWerx concluded its inaugural 12A program in April with an Expo Day, wherein AFWERX also launched Project Vanguard, a partnership with the National Security Innovation Network to provide companies under the Department of the Air Force’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer program access to private funding. The AFWERX project aims to facilitate contract transition from Phase II to Phase III and provide the participating companies with end-user inputs. 

SpaceWERX and AFWERX AFVentures, the DAF’s commercial investment arm, have also launched the 2024 Strategic Funding Increase and Tactical Funding Increase programs to help move SBIR/STTR Phase II efforts to the Phase III scaling initiatives and enable the rapid delivery of strategic Air Force capabilities.