Projects and Missions

APL is developing a small, highly capable charged-particle sensor to deliver data that can help Air Force operators assess whether space weather conditions play a role in spacecraft anomalies.

APL led key “end-to-end” system-level performance analysis in collaboration with the government–industry team for the SM-3 Block IIA missile, cooperatively developed by the United States and Japan.

The Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) mission has provided 3D views of the solar corona, coronal mass ejections and the solar wind, and advanced space weather forecasting.

The SSN/SSGN survivability program ensures our submarines stay hidden regardless of new technology, changing mission requirements, and increasingly sophisticated adversaries.

The Sun Coronal Ejection Tracker (SunCET) mission, a sensitive sensor-camera combination set to launch in 2025, seeks to determine what mechanisms accelerate most coronal mass ejections to speeds approaching 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) per second.

APL, in collaboration with the Naval Air Warfare Center Port Hueneme Weapons Division, led a swarming uncrewed surface vehicle demonstration of advanced multivehicle autonomy at tactically relevant speeds.

A cross-APL team of engineers, working with the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) Target and Countermeasures Directorate and other government and industry partners, develops cost-effective solutions for MDA to support live-fire testing of interceptors, sensors, and fire control systems.

APL teamed with industry and the Above Water Sensors Directorate of Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems on two successful tests of the AN/SPY-6(V), a wideband digital beam-forming sensor known as the Air and Missile Defense Radar.

APL has successfully delivered, flown, and operated two miniaturized satellites, or CubeSats, as part of a Lab-led flight demonstration known as the CubeSat Signal Preprocessor Assessment and Test (CAT).

APL developed and tested the sensors for the Missile Defense Agency’s Spacebased Kill Assessment (SKA) system, currently on orbit and executing planned test events.

APL’s thought leaders are stirring discussions on the importance of taking a systems approach to health care.

For nearly two decades, the Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) mission has explored the gateway between Earth and space.

International regulations for preventing collisions at sea require vessels to operate within certain distances based on the visual identification of other vessels.

A mission to explore Earth’s harsh radiation belt environment and the dynamics of geomagnetic storms.

For the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), APL is developing mission concepts and integrating operational prototypes of visible light communications capabilities in the Department of Defense—helping DISA enhance data security and alleviate demands on the limited radio frequency spectrum.