BAE to build 'autonomous surveillance in space' for the United States
The defence giant's FAST Labs has been awarded a $16 million Phase 2 contract to develop autonomous space-based surveillance capabilities.
BAE Systems’ FAST Labs division has been awarded a $16 million Phase 2 contract from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop autonomous software for 'satellite constellations' that track terrestrial assets.
DARPA's Oversight program is focused on creating an autonomous system that maintains constant "custody" of large numbers of terrestrial assets via new satellite constellations, the company said in a statement.
The award follows the successful completion of Phase 1, the company said. In that project, BAE integrated its software into a modeling and simulation environment to demonstrate a custody mission on representative satellite and sensor models, it noted.
In Phase 2, BAE is commissioned to mature solution algorithms and demonstrate operations with larger constellations, more complex scenarios, and higher-fidelity modeling and simulation environments.
“Future mission requirements are pushing capabilities to the tactical edge,” said Dr. Ben Cooper, a senior scientist at BAE Systems’ FAST Labs (an R&D division of the aerospace and defence contractor).
BAE said the technology will be deployed to tactical-edge satellites and ground stations.
Work will take place at BAE Systems’ facilities in Burlington, Massachusetts. and Merrimack, New Hampshire, and will include collaboration with subcontractor AIMdyn Inc.
The British company said deployment on proliferated networked satellite constellations will enable persistent surveillance at tactical timescales, delivering lower latency and higher revisit rates for near real-time tracking.
The Recap
- BAE Systems’ FAST Labs won a DARPA Phase 2 contract.
- $16 million contract awarded for Oversight program development.
- Phase 2 will mature algorithms and expand constellation demonstrations.
