The Membrane Optical Imager for Real-Time Exploitation (MOIRE) program is a technology demonstration for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that will provide persistent, real-time, tactical video to the war fighter. To accomplish this capability, MOIRE is incrementally demonstrating the technologies needed to develop a large lightweight space-based telescope for geosynchronous orbit using advanced diffractive membrane optics.

MOIRE plans to demonstrate the manufacturability of large collection area telescopes (up to 20 meters), large structures to hold the optics tight and flat, and also demonstrate the additional optical elements needed to turn a diffraction-based optic into a wide bandwidth imaging device.

While the membrane is less efficient than glass, which is nearly 90 percent efficient, its much lighter weight enables creating larger lenses that more than make up the difference. The membrane is also substantially lighter than glass. Based on the performance of the prototype, a new system incorporating MOIRE optics would come in at roughly one-seventh the weight of a traditional system of the same resolution and mass. As a proof of concept, the MOIRE prototype validates membrane optics as a viable technology for orbital telescopes.

With a proposed diameter of 20 meters, MOIRE's membrane optic "lens" would be the largest telescope optics ever made and dwarf the traditional glass mirrors used in the world's most famous telescopes.

Space telescope size comparison (click image to enlarge) - (copyright DARPA)

The Beyond Blue Aerospace Corporation was established in January 2010 as a Federal (Canadian) Corporation to provide air & space flight products and services.

Beyond Blue Aerospace Corporation. will bring spaceflight to Canada for scientific research, career training, industrial growth, and adventure.

We are currently (Dec. 2013) focused on creating ground school training products for space pilots. Once our initial products are developed then flight training and charter services will follow. 

The Goddard Center for Astrobiology (GCA) is a NASA center focusing on astrobiology research themes.

• Did delivery of carbon-containing molecules and water to the early Earth enable the emergence and evolution of life?
• If so, how did it happen?
• What were the processes involved in the creation of such molecules?

These are some of the driving questions behind the research that is performed at the Goddard Center for Astrobiology. Our scientists focus on various aspects of exogneous materials, from the formation of complex organic materials on ice grains to the delivery of those primordial materials to the Earth, starting in the early bombardment period and continuing until today.

A critical assessment requires investigations of very diverse topics. Our research encompasses four themes: each focusing on a different aspect of how life emerges from cosmic and planetary precursor (Goal 3 of the NASA Astrobiology Road Map).

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is one of the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies and considered to be one of the "big five" U.S. Intelligence agencies, along with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency (NSA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and National Geospatial‐Intelligence Agency (NGA).

The NRO develops and operates space reconnaissance systems and conducts intelligence-related activities for U.S. national security. It also coordinates collection and analysis of information from airplane and satellite reconnaissance by the military services and the Central Intelligence Agency. It is funded through the National Reconnaissance Program, which is part of the National Intelligence Program. The agency is part of the Department of Defense. The NRO works closely with its intelligence and space partners, which include the National Security Agency (NSA), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the United States Strategic Command, Naval Research Laboratory and other agencies and organizations. The NRO operates ground stations around the world that collect and distribute intelligence gathered from reconnaissance satellites. 

The NRO is headquartered 2 miles (3 km) south of Washington Dulles International Airport. It designs, builds, and operates the spy satellites of the United States government, and provides satellite intelligence to several government agencies, particularly signals intelligence (SIGINT) to the NSA, imagery intelligence (IMINT) to the NGA, and measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) to the DIA. The Director of the NRO reports to both the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense and serves as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Intelligence Space Technology). The NRO's federal workforce consists primarily of Air Force, CIA, NGA, NSA, and Navy personnel. A 1996 bipartisan commission report described the NRO as having by far the largest budget of any intelligence agency, and "virtually no federal workforce", accomplishing most of its work through "thousands" of defense contractor personnel.

The Swedish National Space Board, SNSB, is a central governmental agency under the Ministry of Education and Research.

SNSB is responsible for national and international activities relating to space and remote sensing, primarily research and development.

SNSB has three main tasks:

• to distribute government grants for space research, technology development and remote sensing activities
• to initiate research and development in Space and Remote Sensing areas
• to act as Swedish contact for international co-operation

The Swedish space programme is carried out by means of extensive international cooperation, in particular through Sweden´s membership of the European Space Agency, ESA.

SNSB's responsability for international activities includes the Swedish involvement in ESA as well as bilateral cooperation within space. Most of the activities funded by the Swedish National Space Board are carried out in cooperation with other countries.

MECANO I&D offers a range of skills covering all phases of a project :

• mechanical and thermal architecture
• product design on CAD systems
• design basis validation and/or optimisation using finite element analysis
• prototype qualification or flight model acceptance testing for vibration and shock environments
• screwed connection characterisation

Ever since its incorporation in 1994, MECANO ID has enriched its service offering item by item :

• 1994 : Mechanical architecture and analysis
• 1998 : Screwed connection characterisation
• 1999 : Vibration testing laboratory
• 2001 : CAD design office 
• 2002 : SRS shock testing laboratory
• 2004 : First Space Flight Model equipment manufactured
• 2008 : Half-sine shocks
• 2009 : Design, mechanical sizing and manufacturing of composite elements with RTM process

Perseus is a constellation of Earth observation satellite, based on the CubeSat platform.

Perseus will provide high quality imagery of the entire Earth, everyday, from a light CubeSat platform, offering imagery at an affordable price, making the data widely accessible. To bridge the data availability barrier, current and archived data will be available to all via a cloud based platform that encourages value added application development in addition to direct imagery access.

The Perseus constellation will utilize the CubeSat standard for cost-effective access to space as secondary payloads to larger, much more expensive Earth observing spacecraft. Traditional Sun-synchronous Earth observation orbits provide constant lighting conditions for data continuity through time. Synchronization of this constellation allows imagery of the entire Earth daily, which is something a traditional spacecraft would be incapable of doing, at a lower cost than one traditional spacecraft.

Canopus Systems US, LLC, is an American company developping the Perseus constellation of Earth observation satellites.

Perseus will provide high quality imagery of the entire Earth, everyday, from a light CubeSat platform,  offering imagery at an affordable price, making the data widely accessible. To bridge the data availability barrier, current and archived data will be available to all via a cloud based platform that encourages value added application development in addition to direct imagery access.

The Perseus constellation will utilize the CubeSat standard for cost-effective access to space as secondary payloads to larger, much more expensive Earth observing spacecraft. Traditional Sun-synchronous Earth observation orbits provide constant lighting conditions for data continuity through time. Synchronization of this constellation allows imagery of the entire Earth daily, which is something a traditional spacecraft would be incapable of doing, at a lower cost than one traditional spacecraft.

The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is a joint project between an international consortium of universities to build a low-frequency radio array operating in the frequency range 80–300 MHz.

The main scientific goals of the MWA are to detect neutral atomic Hydrogen emission from the cosmological Epoch of Reionization (EoR), to study the sun, the heliosphere, the Earth's ionosphere, and to study radio transient phenomena. 

The MWA is the first so-called large-N array, fully cross-correlating signals from 128 phased tiles, each of which consist of 16 crossed dipoles arranged in a 4x4 square. The field of view is large by the standard of astronomical instruments, being on the order of 30 degrees across.

The MWA was to be situated at Mileura Station where initial testing had been conducted then moved southwest Boolardy station in outback Western Australia, at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO), 800 kilometres north of Perth. This location offers a quiet radio environment and stable climate for observations.

The MRO is also the site of CSIRO's Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and one of two candidate sites for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

In addition to the geographic link, the MWA is a technology and science pathfinder for the SKA.

Zero Gravity Corporation (also known as ZERO-G) is an American company based in Arlington, Virginia, formerly of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, which operates weightless flights from United States airports.

Unlike NASA, ZERO-G is governed under Part 121 of FAA regulations (as are all US commercial passenger and cargo airlines) enabling the company to cater to both tourists and researchers alike.

NASA has a microgravity services contract with ZERO-G, which provided the first flights under this contract on September 9 and 10, 2008. Flight time from Ellington Field near Johnson Space Center was provided for the FASTRACK Space Experiment Platform. The flights were funded by NASA's Strategic Capabilities and Assets Program.