Muon Space to develop sensor payload for missile defense satellites

WASHINGTON — Muon Space has secured a $1.9 million contract to develop an infrared sensing payload for missile detection and tracking, the startup announced Dec. 9. The award is a Small Business Innovation Research Direct to Phase 2 contract from SpaceWERX, the U.S. Space Force’s technology arm. The Direct to Phase 2 path lets companies skip an initial feasibility study and move straight to prototype development.

Although announced this week, the contract was issued over the summer and was not affected by the lapse in SBIR authorization that began Sept. 30.

Under the award, Muon will build a high-sensitivity variant of its multispectral electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) payload for the Space Force’s Space Development Agency.

SDA is developing the Tracking Layer, a constellation in low Earth orbit designed to provide continuous detection and tracking of advanced missile threats. The payload will draw on Muon’s Quickbeam scanning architecture, originally created for thermal detection.

CEO Jonny Dyer said the contract “validates our approach of adapting proven commercial space technology for critical defense applications.”

Paula Trimble, vice president of government affairs and strategy, said the work under this SBIR is a “critical step in evaluating alignment of Muon’s technology with the future missile warning/missile tracking architecture being planned by the Space Force, including SDA’s future Tracking Layer tranches.”

The deal adds to Muon’s growing defense portfolio. Earlier this year, the Space Force awarded the company a $44.6 million contract to demonstrate its Quickbeam thermal imaging system for environmental monitoring and weather imaging.

Muon, based in Mountain View, California, developed thermal sensing payloads under a partnership with the nonprofit Earth Fire Alliance. They plan to deploy a FireSat constellation in low Earth orbit to monitor wildfires and other environmental events. The Space Force is assessing whether such commercial systems could help meet defense needs.