Anduril demos night vision sensor tracking satellites through orbital darkness

Sensor tested in orbit

Anduril announced the demonstration Tuesday. Its oven-sized spacecraft launched on a SpaceX rideshare mission in July, carrying several technology payloads. The spacecraft, called Anduril-216, orbits about 590 km above Earth and spends roughly one-third of each orbit in darkness. Its infrared instrument detects heat from objects in space, allowing it to gather imagery when sunlight does not illuminate them.

The mission also carries an edge-compute processor and a power-management system designed to adapt to different missions. Anduril released an infrared image of the Moon above Earth’s horizon as an early example of the sensor’s output.

Addressing a tracking gap

Ground and space-based radars and optical instruments are used by the US military and commercial providers to monitor spacecraft. But visible sensors can lose sight of satellites passing through Earth’s shadow, including during a maneuver.

The Space Force tracks satellites to help military commanders assess potentially threatening activity and to alert operators about collision risks. Anduril executive Adam Thurn said the new sensor is intended to improve monitoring during eclipse periods, when current coverage is limited.

Anduril acquired satellite-tracking firm ExoAnalytic Solutions earlier this year. The company says the infrared instrument can detect spacecraft heat signatures even when they are not illuminated by the Sun.

Plans for the system

Anduril says the sensor can produce both unresolved and resolved imagery, and could inspect another spacecraft if it gets close enough. The company is currently optimizing it for low-Earth orbit, with potential use in other orbits and eventually in cislunar space near the Moon.

Apex Space built the Anduril-216 spacecraft platform. Anduril says it does not plan to manufacture satellites itself, instead buying platforms from other companies and integrating sensors and computing modules.

The onboard computer is designed to combine data from infrared and visible-light instruments and calculate tracking solutions without ground analysis. Anduril says its current priority is selling space-monitoring data to the US military, rather than offering complete satellites or sensors.