# DoD Awards EraDrive $13M for Satellite Autonomy

The Department of Defense awarded EraDrive $13 million through the APFIT program for the Space Force to procure an undisclosed number of Era-Node satellite autonomy modules. This is a direct-procurement award rather than an R&D award, signaling demand for operationally mature satellite autonomy. EraDrive has not yet flown a fully integrated Era-Node module in orbit, and the signal identifies no open solicitation or contract number.

- **Why this matters:** The award shows a path for moving satellite autonomy technology into procurement, but it is a specific award to EraDrive—not an open competition for other suppliers.
- Procurement teams and contractors pursuing related work can use the award as an indicator of Space Force interest in operational satellite autonomy while distinguishing procurement activity from research funding.
- EraDrive’s lack of an orbital flight of a fully integrated module is a material maturity consideration for organizations assessing the technology or related opportunities.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Defense & Military
**Topics:** Artificial Intelligence
**Published:** October 19, 2026

### Government Entities
- U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)
- United States Space Force (USSF)
- United States Air Force (USAF)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

### Vendors
- EraDrive (awardee)

### Key Quotes
> Working with the APFIT office and NASA Ames, we got EraDrive selected and on contract within the same fiscal year. That’s the pace we need to keep up with what the commercial sector is building.
> — Lawrence Robertson, Air Force lead for space experiments

> The way we think about GPS-denied navigation, space domain awareness, RPO, and autonomous operations is basically these are just like four different flavors of autonomy, which are just backed by the same stack.
> — Sumant Sharma, CEO of EraDrive

### Sources
- [Exclusive: EraDrive Lands $13M DoD Award For Autonomy Module](https://payloadspace.com/exclusive-eradrive-lands-13m-dod-award-for-autonomy-module) - Payload Space