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Scout Space Inc. an in-space observation service provider focused on space security and comprehensive Space Domain Awareness (SDA), announces its selection by AFWERX for an SBIR Phase I contract aimed at advancing space safety and operational effectiveness. Under this contract, the company will develop a Collision Analysis Framework designed to bolster real-time spacecraft self-protection capabilities for identifying, tracking, and avoiding space collisions with debris.
Scout plans to develop the framework with minimal computational demand and aims to open new avenues for advanced scenario analyses, aiding in the prediction and mitigation of potential adversarial interceptions. This capability is pivotal in safeguarding crucial U.S. space assets, aligning with the strategic goals of the Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) program office and other USSF entities.
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“Traditional collision prediction methods, reliant on brute-force computations, often falter in real-time scenarios, lacking the agility required for effective self-protection.” remarked Philip Hover-Smoot, CEO of Scout Space. “Our team’s innovative approach to this problem could not only empower spacecraft with autonomous self-protection but to also enhance operational capabilities by efficiently estimating line-of-sight visibility windows for critical and untracked space objects.”
Scout’s Head GNC Engineer Jordan Maxwell, Ph.D., added, “The technology Scout is developing leverages orbital constraints to enable highly-efficient identification, tracking, and avoidance of potential colliders all onboard the spacecraft. By eliminating communication latency to the ground, Scout’s approach can facilitate just-in-time collision avoidance with even small hard-to-track objects for SDA-enabled spacecraft.”
The company plans to integrate this framework into its next-generation Space Domain Awareness (SDA) payload, enabling proliferated object collision detection and risk mitigation.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.
Scout Space was founded in 2019 with the mission to enable a new era of space safety and transparency. Scout’s in-space products and services, first launched in 2021, allow spacecraft to see and understand things around them. The orbital distributed sensor network developed by Scout will significantly improve Space Domain Awareness (SDA) and ensure responsible use of the space environment. The company is a Techstars, MassChallenge, and venture-backed startup with ongoing government and commercial contracts. Scout holds the Established® 2021 Startup of the Year® title.