The Space Force wants to know what goes bump in geosynchronous orbit.
On Friday, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and Space Systems Command (SSC) announced GHOST-R, a joint effort to bring low-cost reconnaissance to GEO under SSC’s RG-XX program—the program of record for the Space Force’s proliferated in-space reconnaissance layer.
Slated for launch in 2028, GHOST-R aims to leverage commercial space vehicles, buses, and electro-optical payloads to characterize resident space objects, provide battle-damage assessment, and enhance positive identification.
“This approach burns down technical risk, drives down lifecycle costs, and gets vital capability to the warfighter faster to ensure a more resilient architecture,” Col. Bryon McClain, acting portfolio acquisition executive for Space Combat Power, said in a statement. “Successful prototypes will have a direct transition into the program of record.”
Phantom traffic: GEO holds some of the Pentagon’s most valuable real estate. Neighborhood watch duty falls to a small fleet of exquisite assets, which are mostly Northrop’s GSSAP satellites—plus ground sensors that hit hard atmospheric and range limits at GEO distance.
GHOST-R tests whether a proliferated layer of cheaper commercial vehicles can do that job at a tempo and price the exquisite model can’t reach. It sits in DIU’s new “Kill Web” portfolio, which leans on commercial tech to out-sense and out-target adversaries with AI-integrated space architectures.
Ghostbusters: True Anomaly and Northrop Grumman both received prototype contracts to build the next-gen reconnaissance vehicles. Each company will leverage its own proven buses, and integrate cutting-edge payloads.
- Northrop plans to integrate its suitcase-sized ESPASat-L with its ESPAStar payload-rideshare platform, as well as a TRL-11-provided optical payload—offering a modular path for augmenting existing systems.
- True Anomaly will initially operate its autonomous Jackal vehicle jointly with USSF operators, before transitioning the vehicle to a government-owned, government-operated RG-XX asset. Mosaic, True Anomaly’s C2 system, will handle mission planning, analysis, and training, informing the full-constellation software a proliferated GEO layer will require.
“As agile, maneuverable adversary platforms become more capable, the reconnaissance architecture can no longer rely on a handful of exquisite assets,” True Anomaly cofounder and CEO Even Rogers said in a statement. “The advantage will go to the platforms with the endurance, flexibility, and agility to respond to the modern operational environment, at a price that allows them to be fielded in numbers so that US forces can maneuver without regret.”
Antares Wins $161M Award for Space Nuclear Power
Antares announced today that it won a $161M DoD contract to advance nuclear power for space—which Antares says is the largest DoD space nuclear award to date.
LeoLabs Wins $20.68M Space Force Award for Scout
LeoLabs is applying its radar tech to national security missions under a new contract with the Space Force, announced Wednesday.
SpaceWERX Announces 2026 STRATFI Awardees
The Space Force announced the newest awardees of the SpaceWERX Strategic Funding Increase program during the Fed Supernova conference on Thursday.
Guetlein: CR Could Mean ‘No Golden Dome…No Funding’
“I will tell you, if they don’t figure it out, there is no Golden Dome—because there’s no funding,” he continued.
For years, European space startups have wondered when big institutional buyers would stop handing large contracts exclusively to legacy A&D primes. During the last few weeks, it’s become clear that time is now.
This month, at the International Space Summit and World Space Business Week (WSBW) in Paris, European space startups locked down several major commercial, civil, and defense contracts, suggesting a shift within the European space ecosystem—one in which startups are increasingly participating in major programs.
I.e, e.g., etc.: The new contracts signal a change in mentality among the continent’s institutional buyers, driven by both the rising focus on sovereign systems, and the newfound necessity to quickly improve commercial and national space capabilities.
Keep reading