MENLO PARK, Calif. — In a precedent-setting move for space domain awareness (SDA) procurement, LeoLabs announced today it has secured a joint contract from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the U.S. Space Force (USSF). The deal, awarded on September 30, 2025, but publicly detailed today, marks the first time these two agencies have collaborated to simultaneously license a commercial object catalog, signaling a major shift toward civil-military fusion in orbital management.
Under the terms of the agreement, LeoLabs will feed its “Object Catalog”—which currently tracks nearly 25,000 resident space objects—directly into two critical government systems: the USSF’s Unified Data Library (UDL) and the DOC’s burgeoning Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS).
The Scope of the Data
LeoLabs will provide a massive influx of real-time data, including its full public catalog, high-fidelity radar observations, object state updates, and maneuver detection data. The company claims its radar network currently tracks 99.3% of the objects in the Department of Defense’s own public catalog, including 99.96% of all active satellites and 98.56% of tracked debris.
By feeding this data into the UDL, the Space Force’s Joint Commercial Operations cell (JCO) gains enhanced visibility for national security missions. Simultaneously, the Office of Space Commerce (OSC) will use the same data stream to validate and build out TraCSS, the civil system designed to take over space traffic management responsibilities from the military.
Strategic Implications
This contract is a direct execution of the recent Presidential Executive Order on “Ensuring Commercial, Cost-Effective Solutions in Federal Contracts.” Historically, the DoD and civil agencies have procured data in silos. This joint licensing model creates a “buy once, use many” framework that reduces taxpayer redundancy while establishing a single source of truth for orbital data across the government.
“This interagency adoption signals LeoLabs’ emergence as the nation’s leading commercial source of persistent Orbital Intelligence,” the company stated in a release.
Strategic Analysis
This award establishes a critical precedent for civil-military fusion in Space Situational Awareness (SSA). By integrating a commercial catalog simultaneously into the military’s Unified Data Library (UDL) and the civil Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS), the US government is effectively validating the commercial sector’s ability to provide the “foundational layer” of orbital data. This moves the USSF closer to a “monitor and act” posture, while offloading the routine “catalog and coordinate” duties to the DOC and commercial vendors.
