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The prime has enlisted the support of the US-based firm to assist its development of sovereign space awareness capability.
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ExoAnalytic has been tapped by Boeing Australia to support its development of a fully operational space domain awareness capability as part of the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) JP9360 Tranche 2 project.
The joint solution provided under the new partnership is tipped to enable RAAF operators to simultaneously and exclusively task multiple ground-based telescopes across ExoAnalytic’s global sensor network of 350 telescopes.
The telescopes are expected to be controlled and operated by Boeing Defence Australia personnel from an Australian Command Centre, supporting RAAF space command operations in real time by monitoring critical space assets.
Providing command and control and data analytics, the team will leverage ExoAnalytic’s US Command Centre.
ExoAnalytic’s telescope network is billed as the world’s largest space domain awareness sensor network, designed to monitor, interpret and predict the position and behaviours of man-made space objects in orbit around the Earth.
“These services help our customers to operate more safely and sustainably by identifying and providing alerts for objects behaving anomalously or creating potential threats such as collision risks,” Dr Douglas Hendrix, CEO of ExoAnalytic Solutions said.
“Even the smallest item of space debris can decommission a satellite. The capability of ExoAnalytic’s global telescope network to see very small and very dim objects is well beyond most ground and space systems.”
ExoAnalytic’s support is an extension of its current work providing the US government, including the US Joint Task Force Space Defense, with space awareness capability.
“Our JP9360 offering will provide a low risk, robust, and sovereign ability to detect, track, identify and characterise space-based events to support Australia’s freedom of action in space,” Dale McDowall, Boeing’s director of global business development, said.
“The ExoAnalytic network is also rapidly extendable – with new sensors able to be added cheaply and quickly.”
Further, under the new teaming arrangement, ExoAnalytic has committed to bringing its Ground-Based Optical Space Domain Awareness system to Australia in a bid to offer new opportunities for local industry.
“ExoAnalytic has been investing in building telescope sites in Australia for some years and has established a network of more than 70 ground-based telescopes across 10 sites, bringing smart work into regional communities,” Dr Hendrix added.
ExoAnalytic is also expected to transition maintenance, operation and management of the Australian network to local firms, with Victoria-based iTeleQuest managing the telescope sites and the Indigenous Defence and Infrastructure Consortium managing maintenance and service.
[Related: Boeing tests anti-jam SATCOM capability]
