Commercial Space Imaging Fills Critical Surveillance Gaps for Military and Civil Operations

Space-to-Space Surveillance Revolution

In a significant advancement for space domain awareness, commercial provider Vantor is now delivering high-resolution space-to-space imagery to the U.S. Space Force, addressing critical surveillance gaps that ground-based systems cannot cover. The company, formerly known as Maxar Intelligence, announced this capability in October, marking a new era in orbital object tracking where commercial technology complements military surveillance networks.

Bridging the Space Surveillance Gap

The collaboration between Vantor and the Space Force’s Joint Commercial Operations (JCO) cell focuses on monitoring orbital regions that ground sensors cannot effectively observe. These “blind spots” in space have long presented challenges for comprehensive space domain awareness, particularly in low Earth orbit where satellite density continues to increase dramatically., according to recent innovations

Susanne Hake, senior vice president and general manager of Vantor’s U.S. government business, emphasized that their offering goes beyond simple imagery. “We’re not just providing pixels,” she stated. “We extract critical intelligence from this imagery, including spacecraft orientation, object velocity data, and deployment confirmation that telemetry alone can’t verify.“

Technical Capabilities and Dual-Use Operations

Vantor’s satellites can capture remarkably detailed images of other spacecraft at resolutions finer than 10 centimeters from distances exceeding several hundred kilometers. This capability stems from a December 2022 license modification by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that permitted the company to redirect its high-resolution satellites away from Earth.

What makes this capability particularly efficient is that it doesn’t require dedicated satellite time separate from Vantor’s core Earth observation business. The company conducts non-Earth imaging during passes over oceans and polar regions where most Earth observation customers have limited interest, enabling dual-use operations without compromising either mission., as earlier coverage

Military Applications: Protecting Space Assets

The Space Force contract specifically focuses on continuous tracking and positional updates for satellites of interest. This data becomes critically valuable when orbital objects have the potential to change their trajectory, scenarios that could pose collision risks to U.S. military and government space assets or indicate potentially threatening behavior.

The ability to monitor such activities in previously unobservable orbital regions represents a substantial advancement for space security operations. As space becomes increasingly contested, this commercial capability provides the military with enhanced situational awareness and early warning capabilities.

Expanding Commercial Applications

While the military application demonstrates clear strategic value, commercial customers are also finding significant utility in non-Earth imagery. Key applications include:

• Deployment Verification: Satellite operators use these images to confirm successful spacecraft deployment after launch, verifying that solar arrays or antennas have unfolded properly before telemetry data becomes available
• Space Traffic Management: Vantor secured a separate contract with NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce to support space traffic management initiatives, particularly valuable during the critical window after launch when positional tracking data may be limited or imprecise
• Collision Avoidance: Enhanced imaging capabilities help satellite operators, launch providers, and space traffic managers maintain safe orbital operations during periods of heightened collision risk

The Future of Commercial Space Intelligence

Vantor’s space-to-space intelligence business, though only three years old, represents a growing trend of commercial capabilities filling critical gaps in government and military operations. As the space environment becomes more crowded with both government and commercial assets, the demand for comprehensive space domain awareness continues to accelerate.

This partnership between commercial providers and government agencies demonstrates how innovative licensing approaches and technological advancements can create new capabilities that benefit both national security and commercial space operations. The success of such initiatives likely signals increased future collaboration between commercial space intelligence providers and government space agencies worldwide.

This article aggregates information from publicly available sources. All trademarks and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

Note: Featured image is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent any specific product, service, or entity mentioned in this article.