[Satellite Today – 2-27-08] Orbital Sciences Corp. has been selected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a Phase 1 concept for System F6, Orbital announced Feb. 27.
    System F6 – Future Fast, Flexible, Fractionated, Free-Flying Spacecraft united by Information eXchange – will demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of a satellite architecture in which traditional "monolithic" spacecraft are replaced by clusters of wirelessly-interconnected spacecraft modules.    
    “F6 has the potential to be a game-changing event in the history of military space systems in the same way that the Internet revolutionized data communications," said Gregg Burgess, Orbital’s vice president for National Security Systems in the Advanced Programs Group in a statement. "DARPA and Orbital have had a long and productive partnership leading to major innovations such as the Pegasus launch vehicle and numerous advanced small satellites. System F6 could transform today’s military space architecture to create a truly networked system of systems in space."