BAE Systems FAST Labs has received a Phase 2 contract worth 16 million dollars from DARPA to further develop autonomous space-based surveillance. The information is detailed in a press release from BAE Systems via PR Newswire.
According to the press release, DARPA's Oversight program aims to create an autonomous system capable of continuously monitoring a large number of ground-based objects via new satellite constellations. The contract follows Phase 1, during which BAE Systems' software was demonstrated in a simulated environment. In Phase 2, the algorithms will be further developed and tested in more complex scenarios while the technology will be deployed both on satellites near the tactical environment and on ground stations.
– "Future mission requirements are pushing capabilities to the tactical edge, in space this means operating primarily on board satellites," says Dr. Ben Cooper, senior principal scientist at FAST Labs, in the press release. He adds that the program will help make the space domain more tactically relevant for American forces.
The press release also states that the program is being conducted at the company's facilities in Burlington, Massachusetts, and Merrimack, New Hampshire, with AIMdyn Inc. participating as a subcontractor.