WASHINGTON — Slingshot Aerospace, a space data analytics company, has secured a contract from the U.S. Air Force’s AFWERX program to refine a technique for “fingerprinting” satellites in orbit using photometric data and artificial intelligence. The contract, a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 2 agreement, will support the advancement of techniques used to identify and analyze satellite behavior in orbit, the company announced April 2.
The project focuses on photometric fingerprinting, a method that leverages light curves — measurements of a satellite’s brightness over time — to create a unique signature for each space object. These light curves are influenced by a satellite’s shape, material composition and orientation relative to both the Sun and the observer on Earth. By collecting and analyzing this data, Slingshot said, it can classify satellites, detect anomalies, and maintain custody of objects in low Earth orbit.
Slingshot claims it possesses one of the most extensive photometric data repositories, with its sensor network tracking around 14,500 active satellites and debris objects. Each night, its sensors generate over 4.5 million photometric observations, feeding into its database to refine and expand digital fingerprints for space objects.
U.S. Space Command, which oversees military activities in orbit, is a key customer for this capability, the company said. With photometric fingerprints, military operators could detect unexpected maneuvers by adversaries’ satellites, identify newly launched foreign satellites, and reacquire lost objects. This type of intelligence is particularly valuable in scenarios where adversaries may attempt to disguise their satellites’ functions or alter their orbits to evade detection.
Under the SBIR contract, which runs for 12 months, Slingshot Aerospace will focus on integrating photometric fingerprinting with its Agatha AI system. Agatha is designed to analyze satellite behavior and flag anomalies within large constellations.
The financial details of the contract were not disclosed. Its “direct to Phase 2” status suggests that the technology is already at a mature prototype stage.
