Naomi Cooper
The U.S. Space Force’s innovation arm has awarded Scout Space two phase one contracts to collaborate with research institutions on the development of technologies envisioned to support orbital debris cleanup and other space activities.
The Alexandria, Virginia-headquartered company said it will work with Stanford University’s Space Rendezvous Laboratory and the Florida Institute of Technology’s Orion Lab for the first leg of SpaceWERX’s Orbital Prime program.
The teams will focus on the initiative’s Real-time Autonomous Uncertainty and Risk Monitoring as well as Robust Optical Tracking integration into Real-time Orbital Determination.
The Small Business Technology Transfer contracts awarded to Scout Space cover the initiative’s first two technical areas centered on the assembly and acquisition of debris removal technologies and other space services.
“Orbital Prime is providing us, a private company, with a very unique opportunity to partner with highly respected academic institutions – to kick start advances in technologies for on-orbit approach and on-orbit acquisition,” said Eric Ingram, founder and CEO of Scout Space.
SpaceWERX selected 125 small businesses to create technology concepts for the program’s first phase and compete for up to $1.5 million in awards to continue development and prototyping efforts during the program’s second phase.
