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The Pentagon just funded a $99M telescope — built by a commercial satellite company
Original: Air Force Lab Awards BlackSky Contract Worth Up to $99M for Large Optical Satellite Payload
AI Executive Summary
AFRL's Center for Rapid Innovation awarded BlackSky a sole-source SBIR Phase III IDIQ contract capped at $99M to develop a segmented-mirror large-aperture optical imaging testbed. Initial obligation is $2.1M; additional task orders will fund development through 2032. Satellites built under the program will also serve as on-orbit data storage and processing hubs compatible with emerging orbital data centers.