Raytheon gets set for US rocket cargo missions

The USAF has awarded Raytheon BBN, a subsidiary of Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a contract to develop rocket cargo mission planning and C2 systems.

The contract, announced on 17 January, has a potential value of $8.7 million over four years and is part of the air force's 2030 Science & Technology Strategy’s transformational science and technology portfolio.

During an initial 30-month period, Raytheon BBN will develop mission planning and C2 concepts, identify and develop initial rocket cargo workflows and processes and will design human-machine interfaces based on cognitive engineering.

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The company will also identify coordination points across mission-planning and C2 stakeholders and propose solutions to address gaps in knowledge, organisations and processes.

‘The tool we create must enable the air force to plan, coordinate and conduct a rocket cargo mission within hours,’ said Beth DePass, Raytheon BBN principal investigator for the project, in a statement.

‘At its core, this is a logistics challenge of epic proportions. Although the cargo would initially be pre-packaged and stored at the launch site for rapid loading, there are still tremendous challenges with how the DoD will safely load, launch, and deliver under very tight timing constraints,’ she continued.

‘We will be taking into consideration pre-flight testing, weather conditions, launch approvals, and many other variables, to deliver that cargo precisely where it’s needed, when it’s needed, faster than current delivery methods. We will iterate with multiple DoD stakeholders, the air force, and the space force to ensure we have the best solution to one of their greatest challenges.’