POWAY, Calif., 21 May 2008. The United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is extending a contract with SpaceDev Inc., following a successful Critical Design Review (CDR), as part of the the High Delta-V (HiDVE) Satellite program.

The key HiDVE program goals are to develop a space qualified, low-cost, modular solar thermal propulsion (STP) system combined into a complete satellite. This option award is valued at approximately $3.6 million to be performed during the next six months and allows for the next phase of development of the leading-edge STP, nano-sat bus design and operations program.

"Along with our teammates, General Atomics and BAE Systems, we brought strong and proven capabilities to fully address the program's technical requirements, while performing on-time and on-budget," says Mark N. Sirangelo, SpaceDev's chairman and CEO. "This program has the potential to transform small satellite design and how propulsion is accomplished on orbit. It could bring this class of space technologies development to another level while showing the significant value of government/commercial collaboration for this type of operational effort."