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BMC3I TAP Lab Texas
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Advancing Solutions for the U.S. Space Force BMC3I Mission

Accelerating Space Domain Awareness through Academic–Industry Collaboration

BMC3I TAP Lab Texas is an innovation incubator connecting academic researchers, commercial startups, and industry developers with operational defense challenges. Anchored at The University of Texas at Austin and supported by the Texas Space Commission and the U.S. Space Force, we give early-stage teams the curated orbital data, advanced supercomputing, and testbed environments needed to build mission-ready capabilities.

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The Operational Challenge

Most Good Ideas Run Out of Steam Building the Infrastructure

Space is rapidly becoming dangerously congested. Space Domain Awareness (SDA) is the ability to track objects, predict satellite paths, and identify unexpected behaviors in orbit. BMC3I (Battle Management, Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence) is SDA through a defense lens.

  • Challenges

    Maturing early-stage software (TRL 1–4) for national security can be slow. Obstacles include negotiating proprietary data licenses, building custom test harnesses, and challenging military compliance requirements.

  • Solutions

    TAP Lab Texas removes barriers by providing verified data layers, live visualization facilities, and supercomputing power from day one.

Want to get involved?

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Upcoming Event

Webinar #1: Introducing BMC3I TAP Lab Texas

October 27, 2026 · Virtual Livestream (Zoom)

Join us for our inaugural informational session. We will provide a plain-language overview of the Texas Lab mission, tour our SOSR and supercomputing capabilities, 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, UT Austin Professor and MacArthur Fellow

  • Elizabeth Taylor

    Program Manager

The registration link is not posted yet.

Transition Architecture

Texas to Colorado: From Concept to Operational Adoption

TAP Lab Texas and the Space Force’s BMC3I TAP Lab in Colorado Springs operate as complementary halves of a single capability pipeline.

  1. 01

    Mission needs

  2. 02

    Innovation areas

  3. 03

    Academia and industry

  4. 04

    Capability maturation

  5. 05

    Demonstration

  6. 06

    Transition pathways

  • Early-stage focus (TRL 1–4)

    Texas develops the science, pairs universities with commercial partners, and tests algorithms against real and synthetic data.

  • Transition pathways

    Successful efforts graduate with a comprehensive Candidate Proposal—positioning teams directly for intake into the Colorado accelerator (TRL 5–8+), SpaceWERX awards, STTR/SBIR funding, or commercialization.

Collaboration Model

Start by Joining the Ecosystem

All participation in 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.

  • Universities and researchers

    Faculty, labs, and student teams looking to apply research to mission-critical space problems.

  • Industry and startups

    Software developers, aerospace innovators, and data companies seeking test environments and defense transition runways.

  • Subject matter experts and mentors

    Specialists interested in advising emerging teams or contributing domain expertise.

When formal project tracks open, all applicants must represent a joint academic–industry partnership. If you do not have a partner yet, submitting an Ecosystem Profile enables our team to facilitate introductions and pair complementary organizations ahead of cohort selection.

Create Your Ecosystem Profile