Accelerating Space Domain Awareness
through Academic-Industry Collaboration
BMC3I TAP Lab Texas is an innovation incubator connecting academia and industry through operational defense challenges in space to advance solutions for the U.S. Space Force.
SDA Through a Competitive Lens
Space is rapidly becoming dangerously congested with satellites, organic matter, spent rockets and other debris. Space Domain Awareness (SDA) is the ability to track objects, predict satellite paths, and identify unexpected behaviors in orbit. The BMC3I project (Battle Management, Command, Control, Communications, and Space Intelligence) is SDA through a competitive lens.
Three Partners. One Pipeline to Orbit
Academic and industry partners work together from the start. The industry partner manages the team. Every team builds on the lab's integration platform, with supercomputing and a secure environment from the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC). Teams own their IP and can export their work at any time.
Maintaining Momentum
Maturing early-stage software - Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 1 to 4 - for national security can be a slow and complicated process. BMC3I TAP Lab Texas removes barriers by providing verified data layers on the lab's integration platform, live visualization facilities, and compute, storage, and a secure environment from the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC).
BMC3I TAP Lab Texas supports collaborative groups develop promising technologies, based on proscribed Innovation Areas, from TRL 1 to 4. At this point, cohorts are connected with our partner BMC3I TAP Lab in Colorado Springs, equipped with the capabilities to move promising TRL 4 concepts to TRL 7/8: commercially viable tools ready for deployment by the U.S. Space Force.
Transition Texas to Colorado
From concept to operational elevation to stakeholders
Austin, Texas
BMC3I TAP Lab Texas
Early-stage science and testing, TRL 1 to 4
Graduates leave with TRL 4 technology and a Transition Package. There are no guarantees.
Upcoming Event
Webinar Series No. 1: Introducing BMC3I TAP Lab Texas
Thursday, November 5, 2026, 1:00 to 2:30 PM Central · Microsoft Teams
Join us for our inaugural informational session. We will provide a plain-language overview of the BMC3I TAP Lab Texas mission, tour our Space Object Situation Room (SOSR) and the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), walk through the academic–industry teaming model, and discuss upcoming challenge areas. A live Q&A will follow the presentation.
Dr. Moriba Jah: Principal Investigator; Full Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, UT Austin; MacArthur Fellow
Ecosystem Profiles
Join The Ecosystem
All participation in BMC3I TAP Lab Texas begins by creating an Ecosystem Profile. Whether you are a university faculty member with an astrodynamics model, an early-stage software startup, or an industry integrator, completing a profile allows our team to map your technical capabilities, introduce potential teaming partners, and notify you as new challenge areas are approved.
Create Your Profile Learn More
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Research & academia
Universities and Researchers
Faculty, labs, and student teams looking to apply research to mission-critical space problems.
Create a profile -
Industry & startups
Industry and Startups
Software developers, aerospace innovators, and data companies seeking test environments and defense transition runways.
Create a profile -
Mentorship
Subject Matter Experts and Mentors
Specialists interested in advising emerging teams or contributing domain expertise.
Become a mentor