LLNL Selected by DoD DIU to Build Pathfinder Space Telescope

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has been selected by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to deliver a new monolithic telescope for a responsive space mission scheduled to launch as early as 2027.

The payload will be hosted and operated by Firefly Aerospace aboard its Elytra orbital vehicle during the mission in low Earth orbit (LEO), which spans altitudes of approximately 60 to 1,240 miles above Earth.

“LLNL is excited to begin this new collaboration with Firefly for responsive space capabilities, demonstrating unprecedented speed to mission, unique capabilities for a variety of space environments and exceptional in-space imaging,” said Benjamin Bahney, LLNL’s space program leader.

“This mission will prove a new capability for future highly maneuverable, responsive in-space imaging missions for the U.S. Defense Department in a variety of possible orbits including in deep space and into the lunar regime.”

The 10-inch (25-centimeter) diameter monolithic telescope will provide advanced, high-resolution optical space domain awareness capabilities. This work builds on a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement facilitated by LLNL’s Innovation and Partnerships Office.

Under the agreement, LLNL will build and deliver the flight-ready payload—including two optical telescopes and an electronics module featuring a NVIDIA processor—within 13 months. The team will also support imaging operations throughout the on-orbit mission.

“As Firefly scales up production of our Elytra vehicle line, we’re looking forward to further collaborating with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to support our responsive on-orbit services across LEO, medium Earth orbit, geosynchronous orbit, lunar orbit and beyond,” said Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace.

“Together, our highly maneuverable Elytra vehicle and LLNL’s telescopes enable on-demand imaging, space domain awareness and other responsive services that support national security, the science community and the commercial industry at large.”

The mission is part of the DIU’s Sinequone project, which seeks to provide cost-effective, rapid access to space beyond geosynchronous orbits (xGEO)—more than 22,000 miles above Earth—for strategic and commercial applications. This LEO mission represents the first step toward enabling future maneuverable Department of Defense capabilities in xGEO on responsive timelines.

This will be LLNL’s third rapid space payload mission for the U.S. Defense Department, following the Tactically Responsive Launch-2 (TacRL-2) mission in 2021 and the upcoming VICTUS HAZE mission. The Lab’s monolithic optics are engineered to be robust and adaptable for a variety of optical payload configurations and mission requirements.

“We are thrilled to be selected by DIU for this mission, continuing LLNL’s work to supply the Defense Department with our monolith payloads to support responsive space missions and prove out new capabilities for defense of the space domain,” said John Ganino, LLNL’s space hardware lead.

As a federally funded research and development center under the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, LLNL routinely supports the U.S. Defense Department. Its Space Program addresses complex challenges in space security and space domain awareness.

“This mission is a great opportunity to showcase our design process,” said Shawn Higbee, LLNL’s primary investigator for the mission. “We focus on making our telescope technology available as a ‘plug-and-play’ component for DOD customers across the widest possible mission space, and across many bus partners.”

The collaboration also highlights the role of LLNL intellectual property and public-private partnerships in advancing national security and U.S. economic competitiveness.

About Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, founded in 1952 in Livermore, California, is a federally funded research and development center operated by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. The Laboratory applies science and technology to advance national security, with research spanning defense, energy, intelligence, and space systems. LLNL’s Space Program supports the U.S. defense and scientific communities in space security, space domain awareness, and rapid mission capability development.  For more information, please click here.

Source/Photo Credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

---

(Editor’s Note: All trademarks mentioned in this article, including company names, product names, and logos, are the property of their respective owners. Use of these trademarks is for informational purposes only and does not imply any endorsement.)