Space Force selects firms to build counter-surveillance payloads for satellites

WASHINGTON — The Space Rapid Capabilities Office selected three companies to develop sensors designed to help U.S. military satellites in geosynchronous orbit detect when they are being tracked from the ground.

The office, a specialized acquisition arm within the United States Space Force focused on rapidly fielding space systems, said April 29 it awarded three Small Business Innovation Research contracts worth $3 million each to Assurance Technology Corp. of Carlisle, Massachusetts; Raptor Dynamix of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Innovative Signal Analysis of Richardson, Texas.

The companies will develop payloads capable of detecting and characterizing emissions from ground-based radars that track U.S. satellites operating in geosynchronous orbit. “By identifying these signals, the sensors allow the U.S. Space Force to determine in real-time if orbital assets are being monitored or targeted by adversarial systems,” the Space RCO said in a news release.

The contracts were awarded through a collaboration with SpaceWERX, which oversees SBIR programs, under a project focused on low-cost, small payloads for military satellites. The awards cover development of “advanced radar warning receivers designed for dynamically maneuverable satellite platforms in geostationary orbit.”

Kelly Hammett, director of the Space RCO, described the systems as “tactical awareness sensors that will allow the U.S. Space Force to discern whether maneuverable satellites are being observed, tracked or targeted.”

By enabling spacecraft to detect and interpret activity that might pose a threat, the Space Force is aiming to make its orbital assets more “self-aware,” improving their ability to respond.