Private space startups complete orbital rendezvous mission for US Space Force

The U.S. military routinely uses satellites to fly by rival vehicles and assess their capabilities, but scaling up such reconnaissance is increasingly seen as a task best suited for the private sector. Last week, two space startups, True Anomaly and Rocket Lab, completed a rendezvous mission for the U.S. Space Force so complex it was likened to a scene from "Top Gun." Their two rival satellites met in orbit, close enough for one to capture imagery of the other. The exercise, called Victus Haze, demonstrated close inspection of a space vehicle shortly after it reached orbit—a necessity as the U.S., Russia, and China deploy new space weapons.

"China and Russia launch capabilities to space on a regular basis, and part of the Space Force's job is to understand what those capabilities are," said True Anomaly CEO Even Rogers, a former U.S. military space officer. "Right now we have gaps in our collection capability."

During the June mission, Rocket Lab—a rival to SpaceX that recently announced its acquisition of Iridium—launched a spacecraft named Puma just 16 hours and 42 minutes after receiving notice, notable because most rocket launches are scheduled months in advance. A Jackal spacecraft built by True Anomaly was waiting in orbit to intercept it. The company did not know where Puma would arrive, but used onboard sensors to find and identify its target from 2,000 kilometers away. Jackal then flew close to the target—exactly how close is classified—and orbited it, capturing imagery of different parts before returning to its starting point.

Rogers said that outside of NASA and Space Force human spaceflight missions, "this is probably the most complex rendezvous and proximity operation between two spacecraft in modern history." Bringing two spacecraft together in orbit, both moving at speeds near 17,500 mph, is no easy feat. Previous private demonstrations, such as Northrop Grumman's maintenance satellites or Astroscale's orbital debris missions, operated on slower timelines.

Now, the two companies are preparing for further exercises in the coming weeks with increasing difficulty, potentially including Rocket Lab's Puma trying to evade True Anomaly's Jackal and performing its own inspection maneuvers.

Founded in 2022 by Rogers and a team of former military space experts, True Anomaly has raised over $1 billion, including a $650 million round in March. The company will now compete for task orders under the Space Force's $6.2 billion Andromeda program, which relies on the private sector for maneuverable reconnaissance. "Flight heritage is everything, and demonstrated capability is what speaks the loudest with these opportunities," Rogers said.