Voyager Technologies was awarded a DARPA Burn n’ Go Phase 2 contract, valued at $16.5 million, to advance the development of a new propellant-embedded control technology that gives solid rocket motors (SRMs) tailorable, post-manufacturing thrust control that enables improved performance and manufacturing efficiency.
“This award reflects confidence in our ability to translate advanced propulsion technologies into field-ready capabilities that support U.S. national readiness and deterrence,” said Matt Magaña, president, Space, Defense & National Security, Voyager. “Our approach is designed not only to demonstrate performance gains at the system level, but to establish a credible path to industrialization that can reshape how solid rocket motors are produced, mission-tailored and controlled.”
The award follows the successful completion of Phase 1, during which Voyager developed a conceptual system architecture and conducted detailed trade studies and preliminary designs to assess the viability and feasibility of the proposed technology. Phase 1 concluded with a Conceptual Design Review, validating the technical approach and positioning the program for hardware demonstration and manufacturing maturation.
During the 20-month contract, Voyager will combine its expertise with complex system modeling and controls with the propellant and manufacturing specialized to develop and validate proof-of-concept systems, culminating in tailorable SRM hot-fire demonstrations.
The program also focuses on manufacturing scalability and post-manufacturing control architectures, including the integration of structural health monitoring systems to support real-time health monitoring and performance. These activities are intended to prepare the technology for rapid industrial transition across multiple weapon systems, enabling flexible weapons procurement and large-scale production and stockpiling.
Voyager’s vertically integrated capability spanning advanced propulsion modeling, embedded control architectures, energetics formulation, precision manufacturing and high-consequence testing allows the company to move emerging propulsion technologies efficiently from concept through demonstration toward fieldable, industrial-scale solutions.
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