Startup Offers Tool to Help Predict, Coordinate Action on Orbital Collisions

Originally published by Jacqueline Feldscher, Senior National Security Correspondent at Defense One.

A multi-company pilot program will test Slingshot Aerospace's chat-and-track software.

A startup thinks it has a better way to help satellite operators track potential orbital collisions—and talk about them with other companies and agencies. 

The software from Slingshot Aerospace draws on data from both public sources and a company’s private information to give users a rundown of potential collisions, planned satellite maneuvers and a way to contact other operators. Users view a screen whose header gives information about current space weather conditions and how long until there is another risk of collision. Lower down, the left half of the screen is a chat platform, so operators can let others know how they plan to move their satellites to avoid collisions. The right side of the screen is a “decision log” where users can see their planned maneuvers.

“Today, [satellite] owner-operators are inundated with collision data messages,” said Melanie Stricklan, the CEO and co-founder of Slingshot Aerospace. “This gives them actionable information at their fingertips along with the ability to communicate across companies and internationally.”

Dubbed Slingshot Beacon, the software will be tested in a pilot program that includes satellite communications company OneWeb, data analytics specialist Spire Global, and Orbit Fab, which seeks to build orbital refueling stations for satellites, according to a Slingshot Aerospace press release.