With lead times shortening and the tech ecosystem accelerating, it's no longer practical to build every satellite from scratch. Handle is a project from Aerospace that makes power and connectivity "plug and play" — and now the United States Space Force is exploring using it as the basis of a new modular satellite framework.

Handle was developed and tested as part of the Slingshot multi-payload mission, and afterwards added to Aerospace's Tech Transfer program so it can be adopted and iterated on by anyone who might find it useful.

In this case, as reported by SpaceNews, the USSF's Space Safari office has awarded a $3.3 million contract to California defense contractor Falcon ExoDynamics with the goal of turning Handle into handle 2.0, upgraded to meet the branch's particular specifications.

USSF Col. Bryon McClain tells SpaceNews that this work is crucial for enabling "faster, easier integration of complex subsystems."

"Our goal for Handle is to foster the creation of a commercial-off-the-shelf modular payload interface, so this is very exciting," said Deborah Salvaggio, Director of the Office of Technology Transfer at Aerospace. "We're excited to continue our effort to support widespread adoption — this could be game-changing."

You can learn more about the Tech Transfer Office here, as well as other work they're doing — including the recently launched DiskSat platform.