- Ursa Space Systems has successfully completed a task order from the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command (SSC) to provide maritime situational awareness for U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).
- The task was part of SOUTHCOM’s Resolute Sentinel exercise in Peru and aimed to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Ursa Space leveraged its virtual constellation and advanced data fusion capabilities for rapid delivery.
Ithaca, N.Y. – September 11, 2023 – Ursa Space Systems, a leader in satellite insights, has successfully completed a task order from the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command (SSC) in support of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). This marks the first collaborative effort between Ursa Space, SSC, and SOUTHCOM.
A Unified Effort Against Maritime Threats
The task order was requested by SSC’s Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Tracking (SRT) Cell to provide situational awareness against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, a significant global maritime security threat. SOUTHCOM, one of the 11 unified Combatant Commands in the Department of Defense, is responsible for operations in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
Leveraging Advanced Satellite Capabilities
Ursa Space provided an Operational Planning Product (OPP) in support of SOUTHCOM’s Resolute Sentinel exercise in Peru. The company utilized its virtual constellation from multiple commercial sources and advanced data fusion capabilities to deliver insights rapidly. Ursa demonstrated its ability to schedule tasking with just one day’s notice and a limited imaging window of 24 hours.
Expertise in Deep SAR Processing
Ursa’s deep SAR processing expertise enabled the fusion of Automatic Identification System (AIS) data with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)-based vessel detections. This allowed for optimized, higher-resolution tasking and tracking of suspicious vessels in the area.
“Our mission at Ursa is to provide a resilient, robust, and accurate set of insights,” said George Flick, Vice President of Ursa’s U.S. Government department. “Ursa’s rapid response and data fusion capabilities allowed this Capstone to mimic near-real-time operations,” added Lieutenant Colonel Vinny Pande, Branch Chief of the Persistent Tactical Surveillance Branch within SSC’s Space Sensing program executive office.
About Ursa Space and U.S Space Force Space Systems Command
Ursa Space is a global satellite insight infrastructure company, while Space Systems Command is the premier space capability delivery organization of the U.S. Space Force.
