DeepSat Wins Direct to Phase II U.S. Air Force Contract to Advance Real-Time Surveillance from Space

DeepSat's Orion's Belt constellation to deliver persistent awareness for US and allied missions.

Los Angeles, CA – August 25, 2025 – DeepSat, an LA-based startup spearheading real-time Earth intelligence from Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO), has been selected for a Direct to Phase II, AFWERX, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The award enables DeepSat to rapidly develop and prototype its dual-use satellite constellation for persistent, real-time monitoring—addressing urgent national security and environmental gaps, especially in the Maritime domain in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. The Direct to Phase II SBIR award bypasses traditional Phase I trials, signaling confidence in DeepSat's technical maturity, operational readiness, and potential for mission-critical impact.

The oceans are a growing theater for illicit activity—from illegal fishing, smuggling and human trafficking to unauthorized military operations—yet according to Global Fishing Watch and other NGOs more than 75% of high seas fishing remains untracked. DeepSat's constellation, powered by VLEO technology and onboard AI, helps close this gap by enabling real-time vessel detection and delivering more frequent coverage over remote ocean regions.

“AFRL's selection of DeepSat reflects the growing demand for tactical Earth intelligence that's both agile and scalable. We're excited to help tackle one of the world's most pressing security challenges.”

— Nerses Ohanyan, CEO, DeepSat

Key Innovations Behind DeepSat's Maritime Surveillance and Disaster Monitoring Capability:

• Very Low Earth Orbit: Flying at ~250km enables 2x better resolution and faster revisit rates than in traditional LEO.
• COTS-Driven Architecture: Built using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components like GPUs and sensors to enable scalability and supply chain resilience.
• Edge AI Inference: Detection and tracking are performed directly onboard, reducing latency and bandwidth.
• Self-Clearing Orbits: VLEO offers natural orbital decay, limiting long-term space debris.

In just one year, DeepSat has gone from concept to contract—securing government support, building key industry partnerships, and accelerating toward its first in-orbit mission. The AFRL award fast-tracks this 2027 demonstration, enabling early validation of our VLEO imaging platform and AI-driven vessel and moving object detection capabilities.