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Defense Advanced

Research Projects Agency

(DARPA)

What Is Darpa?

The Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA) is an advanced-technology
branch of the U.S. Department of Defense. The
purpose of the agency is to try out new
technologies and make them operationally
ready, if possible, and to reach beyond current
military technology to do something new.
“DARPA imagines and makes possible
new capabilities for overcoming the
multifaceted threats and challenges that lie
ahead. This makes a better, more secure future
possible,” the agency wrote on its website.
“Precision guidance and navigation, stealth,
unmanned aerial vehicles, night vision, and
communications and networking are among the
technologies that changed the face of war over
the last two decades …"

their uncertainty by encouraging DARPA to operations.
Early history
carry forward the concept until these risks are In 1972, the agency's name was changed
minimized.” to DARPA.
The agency that became DARPA was created
Other early projects ARPA worked on Recent work
after the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik
included:
satellite in 1957. The first satellite sent to space
Because DARPA is a military agency, much of
sparked a wave of worry that the United States
The Internet. In the 1960s, the Advanced its information is cloaked for security purposes.
was falling behind technologically.
Research Projects Agency Network However, DARPA has proudly published a
First called the Advanced Research
(ARPANET) was the first to use a technology timeline of its technological history, and makes
Projects Agency, ARPA's first priority was to
called packet switching, which shares blocks of regular announcements to the media about
assert the United States' military presence in
information across a network. Also, an ARPA- projects that it is working on.
space. At the time, the Space Race was in full
funded project for computer collaboration In 2015, DARPA announced it was
swing. NASA was sending astronauts on ever-
called the oN-Line System (NLS) “included the moving forward on testing a satellite-launching
longer and more-complicated missions to bring
first practical use of hypertext linking, which fighter jet, called the Airborne Launch Assist
crews to the moon, which it succeeded in doing
proved the concept could work in the real Space Access program, or ALASA. The goal of
between 1969 and 1972.
world,” PC Pro wrote of NLS. this program is to reduce launch costs and to
Meanwhile, ARPA worked on ballistic
The computer mouse. The first version make it possible to order a satellite launch on
missile defense; the fear was if the Soviets
of the mouse was created to help users move demand, rather than waiting for a rocket to
could launch a human into space, they might
around the NLS. It was created by Douglas become available.
also use the rockets for defensive purposes. It
Engelbart the 1960s with funding from ARPA, “One of the most important advantages
created a nuclear test program called Vela that
but the patent expired before the devices came ALASA would offer is that a jet can carry the
was supposed to detect when a Soviet nuclear
into wide use in the 1980s. "The emergence of rocket to almost any orbital trajectory and
missile was launched. Vela also was used for
the Microsoft Windows operating system and operators would only need 24 hours notice to
monitoring compliance after the Limited Test-
Web browsers hastened the mouse's make it happen,” wrote Geek.com of the
Ban Treaty in 1963 reduced use of these
pervasiveness throughout the 1990s and into the initiative. “You don’t even need a big,
weapons worldwide, DARPA stated.
first decade of the 21st century," Scientific expensive launch pad. Any airstrip will do.”
“As the Advanced Research Projects
American wrote of the invention. The agency is also one of several
Agency, ARPA was differentiated from other
The M16 assault rifle. "The rifle considering how to repair and refuel satellites in
organizations by an explicit emphasis on
received high marks for its light weight, its orbit. Satellites are usually limited by their fuel,
'advanced' research, generally implying a
accuracy, and the volume of fire that it could which means that often perfectly functional
degree of risk greater than more usual research
provide," Encyclopedia Britannica wrote of the satellites need to be junked because they are out
endeavors,” wrote Richard Van Atta in a
rifle. However, earlier versions had jamming of gas. DARPA is looking into droids that may
summary of DARPA's first 50 years, published
problems due to the design, a situation that was be able to repair the satellites, potentially
on the agency's website.
overcome after gun makers changed the powder lowering the long-term cost of satellites.
“Given that the ideas pursued are
used and soldiers were offered more cleaning “Bringing this servicer into operation
innovative, often revolutionary, they imply
kits and better training. will create a satellite fleet servicing capability
unknowns to the user in terms of how they will
GPS. Today we routinely use GPS rather than the isolated, unserviced satellites of
be implemented and how this implementation
(global positioning system) for navigation, but today,” said the request for information on the
will affect the implementer’s overall
in the early days it was very much a military project, which DARPA put out in 2014.
operations,” Van Atta added. “To this end, the
system. The principle uses time signals from “Because the majority of satellites in
potential military users often seek to reduce
multiple satellites, according to Extreme Tech, [geosynchronous Earth orbit] are commercially
which can tabulate location based on how far owned, a promising approach to ensuring a
THE ‘X’ ZONE BROADCAST NETWORK apart the satellites are from each other. ARPA servicing capability for U.S. government assets
“Searching for Answers, Demanding the was one of the entities working on an early is through a model that jointly engages
Truth.” version of GPS called TRANSIT, which was commercial stakeholders.” []
www.XZBN.net available in 1960 for pinpoint military