Scout Space Unveils Owl Product Line of Long-Range Sensors

Ibadan, 9 April 2024. – Scout Space Inc., an in-space observation service provider focused on space security and comprehensive Space Domain Awareness (SDA), has unveiled its Owl product line of advanced modular long-range SDA sensors. The Company designed the Owl product line as a scalable solution bringing purpose-built capabilities to a broad array of operators. Building upon the operational success of the TRL-7 Sparrow (formerly known as Scout-Vision) hardware and software, the Owl system offers visible spectrum sensing and insights to host vehicles.

Owl is a gimbaled long-range space domain awareness vision payload system that aims to augment missions for added in-space capabilities and services. Some of the services include tracking & catalog maintenance, which allows it to survey the space domain around its host and collect photometric or orbital data on nearby objects. Owl also features a neighborhood watch service that allows it to perform hemispherical surveys and identify un-tracked objects outside the domain of traditional sensors.

Josiah Gruber, Scout’s Vice President of Engineering, highlighted the significance of the Owl system, stating, “A modular and interoperable Owl system is a foundational element for the future space architecture, fostering resilience, self-reliance, and multi-functionality.” The Vice President also added, “Integrating Owl into tactically responsive frameworks underscores the U.S.’s commitment to enhancing safety in space operations for multiple orbital regimes.”

Likewise, Philip Hover-Smoot, CEO of Scout, remarked, “Owl’s independent tasking capability significantly expands the range and quality of products we can offer to both commercial and government customers. It sets new benchmarks for achievable SDA outcomes across all orbital domains, marking a major milestone for Scout as a leading SDA provider.”

The baseline Sparrow, including the stereoscopic sensor suite and software, demonstrated its core capabilities onboard the Orbit Fab TANKER-001 mission in 2021, producing commercial non-Earth imagery and space data products.