Orbit Logic Awarded Air Force Space Superiority Contract Extension

April 28, 2015

Orbit Logic has signed a contract for a Phase II SBIR extension sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for continued development of a flexible and scalable Autonomous Planning System (APS) architecture enabling enhanced asset-level and system-level mission planning for satellites and ground-based assets.  The modular design is flexible to support limited or extensive onboard automation of satellite operational decisions.  As part of the Phase II extension, Orbit Logic will develop software modules enabling cross-cueing between federated space assets in low earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary orbit (GEO). Onboard sensor planning capabilities will be extended to include support for gimbaled sensor systems. Orbit Logic will also incorporate its ground based planning software to optimally schedule sensors for nominal and cross-cued space target observations. 

Orbit Logic Autonomous Planning System (APS) used for Cross-Cueing of Federated Assets

Under the initial Phase II contract, Orbit Logic developed a fully functional flight software prototype of the system that demonstrated onboard autonomous planning for multiple use cases.  The addition of new modules supporting gimbaled sensors and cross-queuing shows the flexibility and extensibility of the APS architecture.  “We are not just creating a mission-specific flight software planner.” said Ella Herz, Chief Operating Officer of Orbit Logic.  “We are developing a scalable and flexible software architecture that will make autonomous planning accessible for any mission.  Adding cross-cueing allows onboard planning to interface with information sources and services in the wider space system to raise the overall mission utility.”