The U.S. Space Force awarded a contract to Vantor to strengthen its ability to continuously track high-interest space objects, including those that pass through areas not visible to ground-based sensors, according to a recent press release from the company.
The agreement supports the Space Force’s Joint Commercial Operations program, which aims to strengthen the military’s capability to detect, identify, and monitor objects in the space domain, the company said. The value of the contract was not disclosed.
Under the agreement, Vantor, a spatial intelligence company formerly known as Maxar Intelligence, will provide high-resolution non-Earth imagery to pinpoint the position and movement of objects that could threaten U.S. space assets.
The contract is designed to help Space Force maintain custody of satellites and debris that travel through so-called “blind spots” in existing ground sensor networks. The data will be critical when an object changes orbit, a situation that can increase the risk of collisions or signal potential hostile activity.
Susanne Hake, Vantor’s senior vice president and general manager for U.S. government programs, said the company’s visual-based intelligence serves as a “critical complement to traditional sensor networks,” offering real-time insights for national security.
Vantor’s satellites can capture images of other spacecraft at resolutions finer than 10 centimeters from hundreds of kilometers away. That capability allows analysts to assess the health, status, and trajectory of satellites that would otherwise go unmonitored, the company said.
Vantor is also a participant in the Department of Commerce’s “Commercial COLA Gap” Pathfinder program, which seeks to improve tracking immediately after satellite launches, and in Space Force’s Apollo Accelerator program, which develops tools for rapid response to on-orbit threats.