Space Systems Command’s (SSC) Innovation and Prototyping Acquisition Delta has awarded the Data Exploitation and Enhanced Processing for Space Domain Awareness (DEEP-SDA) prototype to Riverside Research.
This project, spearheaded by Riverside Research, will be supported by the three subsidiaries, all of which are non-traditional organizations: CMSOC Corp, Spire Global Subsidiary, and SciTec Inc.
A lack of U.S. government awareness of the space domain could deprive the United States Space Force (USSF) of indications or warnings of adversary actions and increase the vulnerability of USSF systems and various other U.S. government on-orbit space systems.
The DEEP-SDA prototype will use existing star trackers to collect and exploit data already being collected, filling the gaps in space domain coverage. This prototype will deliver these products and files in a timely manner and create a sustainable capability for operators who need the information regularly.
Following its release in May of 2023, ten out of 13 submissions for DEEP-SDA were small, non-traditional, defense contractors. The interest and participation from these companies that are new to the defense industry is a powerful indicator of the Other Transaction Authority’s (OTA) effectiveness in bridging the gap between government and industry innovation.
Awarded through the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) OTA and managed by National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL), DEEP-SDA will automate current manual data exploitation techniques and deliver user-friendly SDA products at low latencies. This effort is crucial as SDA provides space operators with critical insights that allow the government to make informed and decisive decisions in the space domain.
In 2017, the Space Systems Command established SpEC to connect the Department of Defense with a network of innovators and creators across the most sought-after emerging technology fields as they research and develop space-related prototypes. Earlier this year, SpEC awarded the management of the OTA to NSTXL to expedite the contracting between government and industry, putting advanced technology into the industry swiftly and rapidly.
