DARPA’s Interest In New Ways To Launch Things

DARPA Solicitation: Airborne Launch Assist Space Access (ALASA)

“The goal of ALASA is to develop a significantly less expensive approach for launching small satellites routinely, with a goal of at least threefold reduction in costs compared to current military and US commercial launch costs. ALASA seeks to develop and employ radical advances in launch systems, to include the development of a complete launch vehicle requiring no recurring maintenance or support, and no specific integration to prepare for launch.”