[Satellite TODAY 08-23-10] The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is planning to build a wireless small-satellite network to provide a scalable set of open standard technologies, the agency announced Aug. 19.
    To facilitate the new program, DARPA said it would change the focus of its existing System F6 program to emphasize development of open and ubiquitous space architecture while opening up the development process to a broader research community.
    DARPA said the new emphasis for the program will be on development of real-time, fault-tolerant resource sharing over wireless cross-links, broadband communications between low-Earth orbit spacecraft and the ground and scalable multi-level information assurance architecture.
    An in-orbit demo of the System F6 program is scheduled for 2014.