True Anomaly Selected for U.S. GHOST-R GEO Reconnaissance Program

True Anomaly has been selected by the U.S. Department of War’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to provide its Jackal autonomous orbital vehicle for the Geosynchronous High-Resolution Optical Space-Based Tactical Reconnaissance (GHOST-R) program.

The effort is intended to develop space-based reconnaissance capabilities for monitoring and characterizing objects in geosynchronous orbit (GEO).

Under the program, True Anomaly will deliver its latest Jackal platform and initially operate the spacecraft alongside U.S. Space Force mission operators.

Following the joint operations phase, the spacecraft is expected to transition to a government-owned, government-operated asset supporting the Space Force’s RG-XX program, which is intended to establish a persistent and maneuverable GEO space domain awareness capability.

Jackal is designed for rendezvous and proximity operations in orbit, with capabilities including high-thrust propulsion, increased payload capacity, radiation-tolerant components, secure communications and sensors for detecting, tracking and imaging other spacecraft.

True Anomaly will also provide Mosaic, its mission planning, analysis and operator training platform, with the GHOST-R deployment intended to inform the development of command-and-control capabilities for a larger GEO constellation.

True Anomaly CEO and co-founder Even Rogers said the company designed Jackal and Mosaic to support reconnaissance missions requiring greater maneuverability, sensing and autonomy. He argued that using more numerous, commercially derived spacecraft could provide an alternative to relying on a small number of highly specialized systems.

Image credits: True Anomaly