Anduril and Blue Origin Team Up for Orbital Cargo Transport Project for the Pentagon

Blue Origin and Anduril have secured new study contracts from the U.S. Air Force to explore how their technologies, including rocketry, can aid in global military cargo transportation.

The contracts, a part of the Air Force’s Rocket Cargo program, are relatively small – Blue Origin’s contract is worth $1.37 million, while Anduril’s amounts to $1 million. Nevertheless, these may represent initial strides toward transforming the Pentagon’s methods for cargo transport. These study contracts also hint at which companies might compete for more substantial funding in the future.

Anduril’s contract is particularly noteworthy, suggesting the defense startup is expanding into a new business domain.

Both contracts fall under the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s Rocket Experimentation for Global Agile Logistics (REGAL) program. While Blue Origin did not respond to TechCrunch’s requests for comment, an Anduril representative referred TechCrunch to the AFRL.

REGAL focuses on experimental advancements within the broader Rocket Cargo initiative, which seeks to establish “delivery as a service” through orbital transport. The Air Force aims to achieve these capabilities via service contracts, similar to how the DoD collaborates with commercial airlines. REGAL’s goal is to validate commercial reusable rockets, reentry systems, and cargo transport mechanisms for rapid deliveries to remote or challenging areas within one hour.

While public details about REGAL’s operational scope or timeline are scarce, the requests for proposals disclose some fascinating insights.

According to the brief award information, Blue Origin’s contract entails analyzing how its technology could facilitate “point-to-point material transportation.” The project will be executed at Merritt Island, Florida, where Blue Origin is developing the heavy-lift New Glenn rocket.

Anduril’s design study contract, also linked to REGAL, was granted through a separate proposal process titled “Payload Reentry from Space Development and Demonstrations.”

In simpler terms, Anduril’s proposal explores how to develop a reentry container capable of transporting between 5 and 10 tons of payload to and from Earth. The listing available on SAM.gov specifies that the container should be compatible with various rockets and propose a thermal protection system. The “payload container,” as it is termed in the listing, is expected to accommodate multiple government-specified payloads and work across various platforms.

Reentry presents significant challenges in spaceflight, as developing materials that endure atmospheric reentry while protecting the payload is complex. A handful of startups, such as Varda Space Industries, have created reentry capsules for in-space manufacturing, and SpaceX’s Dragon capsule successfully returns cargo and astronauts from the ISS. However, the number of providers capable of offering such solutions remains limited.

The announcement of these two contracts, previously unreported, follows Rocket Lab’s REGAL contract revealed earlier this year, which incorporates a flight demonstration component, although AFRL has not disclosed further details about that award, including funding amounts.

If rocket cargo services evolve, the Pentagon may opt for “delivery as a service,” utilizing a commercial heavy rocket for transporting large loads that could land back on Earth within a capsule for efficient unloading. In the long term, the AFRL has indicated that the program could even expand to include point-to-point transportation for personnel.