One American startup said it has a better way to help satellite operators track potential orbital collisions. Writes about this Defense one.
Slingshot Aerospace’s software uses data from both publicly available sources and proprietary company information to predict potential collisions in orbit.
Satellite owners and operators will have access to a service where the header displays information about the current weather conditions in space and how much time is left before a new collision risk arises. At the bottom, the left half of the screen is the chat platform so operators can tell others how they plan to move their satellites to avoid collisions. On the right side of the screen, there is a “decision log” where users can see their planned maneuvers.
“Today, satellite owner-operators are inundated with collision data messages,” said Melanie Stricklan, CEO and co-founder of Slingshot Aerospace.
The software, dubbed the Slingshot Beacon, will be tested in a pilot program involving satellite communications company OneWeb, data analyst Spire Global and Orbit Fab, which has planned to build orbiting satellite fueling stations, Slingshot Aerospace said in a press release.
The Pentagon is not involved in the pilot, although some of the companies involved worked for the Department of Defense. OneWeb, for example, was awarded a contract with the Air Force in May to expand communications capabilities in the Arctic, and recently acquired satellite communications company TrustComm to expand its business with the Pentagon.
But Stricklan said the technology could ultimately ease the burden on the military tasked with tracking space objects.
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