AI-powered software chosen by AFWERX to identify satellite activities
NewsApril 02, 2025
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. Slingshot Aerospace announced that it will work with the U.S.Air Force's AFWERX innovation arm to support the Slingshot Rapid Analysis of Photometric Tracks for space Object identification and behavior Recognition RAPTOR) program, which is aimed at satellite and space object identification and behavior recognition.
Under RAPTOR, Slingshot will use machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML and AI) to track, analyze and report on behaviors of objects in low Earth orbit. In the first phase of the program, Slingshot says that space objects of interest to U.S. Space Command will be recognized and tracked, which enables timely reporting on events that could indicate an imminent satellite maneuver or mission change.
Large amounts of photometric data from the Slingshot global sensor network create digital signatures or photometric fingerprinting of space objects in low Earth orbit that Slingshot can identify, track, profile and analyze. Slingshot currently maintains a catalog of approximately 14,500 active spacecraft and debris -- identified using its globally deployed network of optical sensors, which generate more than 4.5 million photometric observations each night. When analyzed, the resulting light signatures create a unique digital fingerprint for each space object that can then be used with Slingshot’s Agatha AI model to identify changes like shifts in an object's orientation in space or its photometric signature.
