US Space Force Leverages Private Sector for Orbital Reconnaissance

Militaries have long employed the tactic of sending satellites to fly by rival vehicles and gather intelligence on their capabilities. However, scaling up this type of reconnaissance has become a pressing challenge for the US military, prompting a shift towards the private sector to handle these complex operations.

True Anomaly and Rocket Lab, two pioneering space startups, recently collaborated with the US Space Force on a high-stakes rendezvous mission, aptly dubbed ‘Victus Haze.’ This daring exercise saw two rival satellites meet in orbit, with one spacecraft capturing imagery of the other in a complex, high-speed maneuver.

The June mission marked a significant milestone in the US Space Force’s efforts to enhance its orbital reconnaissance capabilities. As tensions rise between the US, Russia, and China, with each nation deploying novel space weapons, the need for precise intelligence gathering has never been more pressing.

‘China and Russia launch capabilities to space on a regular basis, and part of the Space Force’s job is to understand what those capabilities are,’ True Anomaly CEO Even Rogers, a veteran of the US military’s space efforts, explained in an interview with TechCrunch. ‘Right now, we have gaps in our collection capability.’

The Victus Haze mission saw Rocket Lab launch a spacecraft called Puma just 16 hours and 42 minutes after receiving notice, a remarkable feat given the usual months-long preparation time for most rocket launches. True Anomaly’s Jackal spacecraft, meanwhile, was waiting in orbit, equipped with onboard sensors that enabled it to locate and identify its target from a distance of 2,000 kilometers.

As the Jackal spacecraft closed in on Puma, it orbited the target, capturing imagery of various parts of the vehicle before returning to its starting point in orbit. True Anomaly’s CEO hailed this operation as ‘probably the most complex rendezvous and proximity operation between two spacecraft in modern history.’

The intricacies of rendezvousing two spacecraft in orbit, where both vehicles are hurtling through space at speeds of approximately 17,500 mph, make this feat all the more remarkable. Previous private demonstrations, such as those conducted by Northrop Grumman’s maintenance satellites and Astroscale’s orbital garbage hunting missions, have operated on slower time frames.

The two companies are now preparing for a series of increasingly complex exercises, which could include Puma attempting to evade the Jackal and performing its own inspection maneuvers. This ambitious plan underscores the growing importance of the private sector in the US Space Force’s efforts to enhance its orbital reconnaissance capabilities.

True Anomaly, founded in 2022 by Rogers and a team of former military space experts, has been working towards this vision since the US Space Force was established in 2019. After several years of development missions, the company has begun to realize its goal of providing the US military with cutting-edge space capabilities.

‘That’s the secret sauce of this company,’ said Seth Winterroth, a partner at Eclipse Ventures who sits on True Anomaly’s board. ‘It’s not one spacecraft architecture or one piece of software or a certain set of payloads – it’s a deep, deep understanding of what tactics and doctrine look like in this domain.’

True Anomaly has secured over $1 billion in funding, including a $650 million round in March. The company is now poised to compete for a number of task orders, particularly in the Space Force’s $6.2 billion Andromeda program, which seeks to leverage the private sector for exactly this type of maneuverable reconnaissance.

‘Flight heritage is everything, and demonstrated capability is what speaks the loudest with these opportunities,’ Rogers emphasized.

In an era of escalating tensions in space, the US Space Force’s reliance on the private sector for orbital reconnaissance capabilities is becoming increasingly crucial. As True Anomaly and Rocket Lab continue to push the boundaries of space exploration, their innovative approach to orbital reconnaissance is set to redefine the future of space operations.