Hydrosat launches first payload to monitor hot-spots on Earth

Hydrosat launches first payload to monitor hot-spots on Earth
Hydrosat launches first payload to monitor hot-spots on Earth

The company’s capability to precisely measure land surface temperatures — using data from a wide variety or Earth monitoring satellites and a software suite for data fusion — has potential military and national security applications.

Scout Space nabs DARPA deal to simulate autonomous satellite swarming

Scout Space nabs DARPA deal to simulate autonomous satellite swarming
Scout Space nabs DARPA deal to simulate autonomous satellite swarming

The BRIDGES project is Scout’s first with DARPA, but the company’s SDA-related software and hardware — including its “plug and play” optical sensor packages designed as hosted payloads — already have caught the eye of Space Force officials.

Pentagon should streamline software adoption with more testing enclaves, experts urge

Pentagon should streamline software adoption with more testing enclaves, experts urge
Pentagon should streamline software adoption with more testing enclaves, experts urge

As the Defense Department and Congress strive to streamline clumsy Authorization To Operate (ATO) procedures for software, the Pentagon also needs more computing infrastructure to test and experiment with new code.

House lawmaker hopes to resuscitate DoD’s venture fellowship program

House lawmaker hopes to resuscitate DoD’s venture fellowship program
House lawmaker hopes to resuscitate DoD’s venture fellowship program

Rep. Elise Stefanik criticized the Air Force’s decision to terminate a fellowship program that paired DoD personnel with the private sector as “shortsighted and misguided,”

BETA Technologies delivers first manned electric aircraft to USAF

BETA Technologies delivers first manned electric aircraft to USAF
BETA Technologies delivers first manned electric aircraft to USAF

“The involvement of the military massively augments our velocity on the commercial side because the military’s expectation of an airplane is fundamentally the same as the FAA’s. They want a safe, reliable, repeatedly produced aircraft,” said BETA founder and CEO Kyle Clark.

Joby Aviation delivers first electric air taxi to Air Force for testing

Joby Aviation delivers first electric air taxi to Air Force for testing
Joby Aviation delivers first electric air taxi to Air Force for testing

“There’s a transformative vertical lift industry that’s emerging and we need to be partners in it,” said AFWERX Director Col. Elliot Leigh.

AFWERX wants to build out autonomy ‘proving ground’ for testing new tech

AFWERX wants to build out autonomy ‘proving ground’ for testing new tech
AFWERX wants to build out autonomy ‘proving ground’ for testing new tech

“This isn’t a thought experiment anymore,” Lt. Col. Bryan Ralston said. “We’ve actually done something and seeing how it works and how we can adapt these technologies.”

Pentagon officials, industry leaders lay out 3 secrets for speedier software

Pentagon officials, industry leaders lay out 3 secrets for speedier software
Pentagon officials, industry leaders lay out 3 secrets for speedier software

“We can’t do our best work unless we’re involved a lot earlier,” said Mandy Long, CEO of BigBear.ai.

Startup Applied Intuition wins AFWERX contract for ‘virtual sensor optimization’

Startup Applied Intuition wins AFWERX contract for ‘virtual sensor optimization’
Startup Applied Intuition wins AFWERX contract for ‘virtual sensor optimization’

The company will use its sensor simulation software product Spectral, which can be used to “place sensors anywhere on a platform to visualize the sensor field of view, occlusion, and coverage,” Nicholas Pisciotta told Breaking Defense ahead of the contract announcement. 

Albedo catches Space Force eyes with ultra-high fidelity imagery from very low satellites

Albedo catches Space Force eyes with ultra-high fidelity imagery from very low satellites
Albedo catches Space Force eyes with ultra-high fidelity imagery from very low satellites

Under a new grant, the company will demonstrate to the Air Force’s National Air and Space Intelligence Center its ability to take very high resolution images at night using a thermal infrared sensor.

Air Force to evaluate intel value of Hydrosat’s hot spot data

Air Force to evaluate intel value of Hydrosat’s hot spot data
Air Force to evaluate intel value of Hydrosat’s hot spot data

While the company currently is using already available data from satellites like NASA’s Landsat and ESA’s Sentinel-2, Hydrosat also intends to launch its own constellation of 16 microsats to low Earth orbit (LEO). 

Way up in the air: World View looks to expand customer base for its ‘Stratollite’ balloon

Way up in the air: World View looks to expand customer base for its ‘Stratollite’ balloon
Way up in the air: World View looks to expand customer base for its ‘Stratollite’ balloon

The company has demonstrated the capability to do ‘pattern of life’ monitoring, staying over a 40 kilometer area for more than four days, said CEO Ryan Hartman.

Startup SCOUT piques Space Force interest with space data software

Startup SCOUT piques Space Force interest with space data software
Startup SCOUT piques Space Force interest with space data software

Sergio Gallucci, SCOUT co-founder and chief technology officer, told Breaking Defense that its new AFWERX contract is focused on demonstrating its software for integrating and streamlining unclassified data from multiple satellites.

Hydrosat plans LEO sats to map literal hot spots for military, commercial users

Hydrosat plans LEO sats to map literal hot spots for military, commercial users
Hydrosat plans LEO sats to map literal hot spots for military, commercial users

CEO Pieter Fossel explained how the temperature of the ground, for instance, can be a critical factor for helicopter-borne special operations missions.