Slingshot Aerospace

🚨 Slingshot Orbital Alert 🚨 (Post 2/2) Following China's launch of 18 G60 satellites on August 6th, Slingshot is tracking over 50 pieces of space debris that pose a significant hazard to LEO constellations below 800 km altitude. The images below highlight a number of key insights derived from Slingshot Global Sensor Network (SGSN) data that are being used to inform space operators of this developing event and ensure that they can keep their spacecraft safe. In order to better equip operators with the most timely data available, preliminary TLEs derived from SGSN data are available for download here (for all fragments the SGSN has been tracking): https://lnkd.in/gcTx8zVb 𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝟭 The chart below visualizes data collected by the Slingshot Global Sensor Network, including key orbital parameters for the objects (orbital period, apogee, and perigee), which highlight that their orbits cross through heavily populated orbital altitudes as they continue to move away from the center of the debris cloud. 𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗦 𝟮-𝟯 The second and third images below are composite images from Slingshot’s LEO-focused Horus optical fences, which detected a series of bright, unexpected objects moving along the same orbital path as the rocket body and the G60 satellites it deployed. These uncued detections have allowed Slingshot to execute additional tasking on these objects to gather more detailed information that will support subsequent tracking and object characterization. 𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 Tuesday’s launch of 18 G60 satellites onboard a Long March 6 rocket is the first deployment for the Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST) group’s Thousand Sails constellation – which is expected to initially consist of 1,296 satellites, with plans to expand to around 15,000 (as reported by Payload). “If even a fraction of the launches needed to field this Chinese mega-constellation generate as much debris as this first launch, the result would be a notable addition to the space debris population in LEO,” said Audrey Schaffer, Vice President of Strategy and Policy. “Events like this highlight the importance of adherence to existing space debris mitigation guidelines to reduce the creation of new space debris and underscore the need for robust space domain awareness capabilities to rapidly detect, track, and catalog newly-launched space objects so they can be screened for potential conjunctions.” 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘 This isn’t the first time that a Long March 6 satellite launch has generated debris in LEO. In November 2022, a Long March 6 breakup led to hundreds of pieces of debris as reported in NASA’s Orbital Debris Quarterly News: https://lnkd.in/gQvtPjCu Looking for more timely space domain awareness insights? Contact us: https://lnkd.in/gnhS6Fp6

🚀 The Seradata API is now live on the Slingshot Developer Hub! 🚀 We’re excited to announce that you can now access the industry’s leading launch and satellite database, Seradata, via Slingshot’s easy-to-integrate API. This new capability eliminates the need for manual data downloads from Seradata – allowing users to seamlessly integrate existing systems with Seradata’s vast repository of spacecraft, launch, insurance, and anomaly data. The following data types are all now available via the Seradata API: 🛰️ – Spacecraft Data: Owner, operator, mission, sector, orbit, age, status, payloads, capacity, subsystem data, etc. 🚀 – Launch Data: All orbital launch attempts (successes and failures), relevant sub-orbital launches, launch vehicle specifications, launch vehicle history, launch orders, future launches, etc. 📊 – Anomaly & Insurance Data: Reliability and failure trends for launch vehicles and spacecraft buses, historical insurance claims and loss values, company reports (including financials), etc. Curious how the Seradata API can streamline your space market analysis? Contact sales@slingshot.space. Already have a Slingshot Developer Hub login? Access the Seradata API here: https://lnkd.in/gTgA3_SW

🛰️ AMOS Update 🛰️ Slingshot’s technical team is on-site at AMOS this week, presenting papers on breakthrough approaches to accelerating space safety, sustainability, and security. One of these papers, "Contextual Predictive Model for Early Identification of High-Covariance Conjunctions," showcases our new machine learning approach that identifies conjunctions with the highest covariance at the time of closest approach – 𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗷𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. This early identification of such conjunctions gives operators enough time to request additional tracking data, reduce covariance, and refine orbital state estimates prior to planning their maneuvers. Planning collision avoidance maneuvers with this improved information on hand can dramatically reduce the risk of collisions in orbit and unlocks safer spaceflight for satellite operators.  Special thanks to the Eutelsat OneWeb constellation team for providing critical data to train and validate this model. This partnership underscores the value of data sharing and transparency as we build the tools required to scale space operations responsibly and sustainably. At Slingshot, we’re excited to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and continue delivering tools that streamline space traffic coordination for all operators. Watch for a link to the paper in the comments once it goes live!

Bonjour! Our team is headed to Paris for World Space Business Week (WSBW). Hear from Melissa Quinn, General Manager of Slingshot Aerospace Ltd, on September 18 at 11:45, as she discusses the new space situational awareness (SSA) capabilities, such as the use of AI, that will be required as we face this unprecedented growth of spacecraft in our orbits. Interested in scheduling a meeting with our team while at WSBW? Drop us a note at hello@slingshot.space.

Slingshot Aerospace has received $30 million in growth capital from Trinity Capital Inc. to continue scaling operations and fund key growth initiatives. “Trinity is the ideal partner for Slingshot as we rapidly scale our business to meet the market demand for our solutions,” said Tim Solms, CEO of Slingshot Aerospace. Thank you to our partners at Trinity for investing in critical technologies to accelerate space safety, sustainability, and security. Read the full release here: https://lnkd.in/gajqJckz

The 2024 AMOS Conference is next week! Will we see you there? If so, be sure to check out the Conjunction/RPO Session on Thursday, co-chaired by our very own Jeff Aristoff, SVP of Technology. In this session you will learn about: - Contextual Predictive Model for Early Identification of High-Covariance Conjunctions, presented by Timothy Olson, Slingshot Aerospace - A Novel Stochastic Unscented Transform for Probabilistic Drag Modeling and Conjunction Assessment - How to Categorize an Avoidance Maneuver: Untangling the Iridium Experience - Real-Time Conjunction Assessment and Collision Avoidance of Satellites for Concurrent Avoidance Negotiation based on Comparative Analysis of Passive Ranging Method with Traditional Sources Drop us a note to schedule a meeting: hello@slingshot.space

The second stage of a ULA rocket that sent a NOAA weather satellite to orbit in 2018 broke apart dramatically in orbit last week, generating a debris cloud first tracked by Slingshot Aerospace. https://lnkd.in/ekjS9hj7

Slingshot’s Vice President of Strategy and Policy, Audrey Schaffer, has been appointed to serve on the inaugural Advisory Committee on Excellence in Space (ACES) – the first such committee assembled by NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce. During her two-year appointment on this Federal advisory committee, Audrey will provide independent recommendations to NOAA on commercial space-related policy, regulations, and related matters – helping shape the future global space economy. "Slingshot is honored to have one of our team members selected to serve on this important advisory committee,” said Tim Solms, Chief Executive Officer, Slingshot Aerospace. “Audrey’s deep space policy expertise will provide NOAA with a unique perspective on how to address challenges to space safety, security, and sustainability.” Congratulations to Audrey and the 16 other newly appointed members of the committee. Slingshot commends NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce for convening this advisory board to address a broad range of commercial space challenges and opportunities. Read the full release here: https://lnkd.in/ehtPaeV2

We hope to see you this week in Switzerland at ITU’s Space Sustainability Forum 2024! Be sure to mark your calendar to hear from Kerri Mertz, Director of International Business on Tuesday, Sept 10, as she discusses innovations in space situational awareness (SSA). The panel will dive into what they see as the future of SSA as well as where they see gaps in regulatory and policy issues. See you in Geneva! 🇨🇭 Interested in meeting with Kerri at the conference? Send us an email at info@slingshot.space.

🚨 Slingshot Orbital Alert 🚨 (Post 2/2) The Slingshot Global Sensor Network is currently tracking 40+ objects related to the breakup of an ATLAS 5 CENTAUR Rocket Body (NORAD ID: 43227) at ~05:21 UTC this morning (September 6th, 2024). Following a detailed conjunction assessment – and given the highly elliptical orbit (34,953 km apogee; 7,634 km perigee; 9.4° inclination) – Slingshot has determined that the current debris cloud does not likely pose an immediate threat to any active spacecraft at present. Currently, the closest predicted approach between debris from the ATLAS 5 CENTAUR parent object and known debris is estimated at ~220 km. While our analysis suggests that, based on the available data, there is no immediate risk to active satellites, this event illustrates the critical role Slingshot’s technology plays in identifying and assessing risks to satellite operations. The image below highlights the persistent tracking provided by Slingshot’s globally distributed sensor network – showcasing two images taken just 16 minutes apart, before and after the breakup. Image 1 (left) – Taken at 05:16 UTC from Chile, shows the rocket body still intact. Image 2 (right) – Taken at 05:32 UTC from another sensor site in Chile, shows the debris cloud around the rocket body. Reach out to sales@slingshot.space for first-to-know space domain awareness insights that impact your mission.