Scout Space‘s Owl sensor is to aid U.S. Space Force’s space domain awareness (SDA) mission in a launch next spring of the first Blue Ring maneuverable spacecraft by Blue Origin, the companies said on Thursday.
The Owl sensor “is designed to enhance real-time tracking, characterization, and assessment of space objects by integrating advanced optical sensing, onboard artificial intelligence-driven processing, and autonomous decision-making capabilities to deliver domain-wide intelligence in space in support of the U.S. Space Force’s space control mission set,” the companies said. “By integrating the sensor onto Blue Ring, the spacecraft autonomously monitors and assesses resident space objects, introducing an enhanced SDA capability to the GEO [geostationary Earth orbit] domain.”
For geosynchronous Earth orbit SDA, the U.S. has a number of systems, including National Reconnaissance Office SILENTBARKER satellites, Northrop Grumman-built [NOC] Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program satellites, and the Lockheed Martin [LMT] Space Fence radar. In addition, the Space Force is to field the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) radar in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Texas in the next several years (Defense Daily, Sept. 10, 2024).
Blue Ring is to be able to carry more than 8,000 pounds of payload and to operate in various orbits, deploy satellites, and perform other missions, such as satellite refueling, a “space tug” for moving payloads between orbits, and data relay.
The first Blue Ring mission next spring “highlights a unique combination of Blue Ring’s dynamic maneuverability and on-orbit services, in concert with Owl sensor’s ability to detect and track satellites, debris, and other resident space objects at long distance from some of the most demanding operating environments,” the companies said.
