SpaceWERX Picks 9 Companies for Program Year 2024.2 Strategic Funding Increase Contracts; Arthur Grijalva Quoted

The U.S. Space Force’s innovation arm has selected nine small companies as contract awardees under the Program Year 2024.2 Strategic Funding Increase initiative to help move their defense technologies from the developmental phase to full production and deployment.

The PY24.2 cohort for the SpaceWERX STRATFI program accounts for $146 million in Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer funds, $155 million in government matching funds and $217 million in private matching funds, the Air Force Research Laboratory said Thursday.

For each defense project, funding within the STRATFI program ranges from $3 million to $15 million.

The selected projects under the SpaceWERX 24.2 STRATFI program include satellites for low Earth orbit and geostationary equatorial orbit, an in-space and reentry vehicle and next-generation narrowband antennas.

“Our growth stage investment programs, STRATFI and Tactical Funding Increase, are central to the AFWERX and SpaceWERX mission of advancing space technologies,” said SpaceWERX Director Arthur Grijalva.

“By actively collaborating with Space Force representatives, we are leveraging both government and private investment to rapidly accelerate the development of cutting-edge space capabilities,” added Grijalva.

The SpaceWERX PY24.2 STRATFI awardees are: