Open Call for Innovative Defense-Related Dual-Purpose Technologies/Solutions with a Clear Air Force Stakeholder Need

Space-based systems play an important role in civilian life and national defense. The increasing number of satellites in space, and the many small or maneuverable objects that are difficult to track, are leading to a more congested and contested space environment. The ability to maintain an up-to-date catalog and persistent monitoring of all resident space objects (RSOs) is becoming increasingly challenging and continues to place a large burden on the nation's space operations centers. To buck this trend, Numerica has recently launched the Numerica Telescope Network (NTN), a newly-designed and deployed global telescope network that combines advanced algorithms, high-performance software, and innovative sensing systems to enable responsive space situational awareness. The NTN currently has both non-defense and defense customers and end users. For this SBIR effort, Numerica proposes to transition several key NTN capabilities to the USAF. In particular, Numerica proposes to discover and engage key end users, customers, and stakeholders within the USAF's SSA and BMC2 communities, identify product-market fit between several key NTN capabilities and particular USAF needs and pain points via pilot trials, and transition these capabilities to the end users and customers in an extended program.