Contracts Are Worth Almost $1 Million Total
Tampa, FL – October 18, 2022 – Ombra, a leading technology and professional services firm that works primarily with the US Department of Defense (DOD), today announced it has been selected by SpaceWERX for four Orbital Prime contracts worth almost $1 million in total. The four contracts are described below.
To Investigate Applications of Its CubeSat Control System
Ombra was awarded a STTR Phase I in the amount of almost $250,000 to investigate how Ombra’s CubeSat Control System (CS2) might enable In-space Service Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) capabilities being explored by the Department of the Air Force (DAF) and United States Space Force (USSF) through the Orbital Prime program. Orbital Prime was created to accelerate the commercial ISAM market toward a use case of Active Debris Remediation.
To Investigate Applications of Its CubeSat Sensor Swarm
Ombra was awarded a STTR Phase I in the amount of almost $250,000 to investigate how Ombra’s CubeSat Sensor Swarm (CS3) might enable In-space Service Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) capabilities being explored by the Department of the Air Force (DAF) and United States Space Force (USSF) through the Orbital Prime program.
CS3 will provide the US Space Force (USSF) a technology capable of detecting and characterizing space debris. CS3 will feature a Swarm network and image processing embedded system hosted on the standardized CubeSat platform. Data will be collected from the cluster of CubeSats nearest to the orbital debris of interest. CS3 will acquire, process, and store data of Space debris and provide interoperability with existing spaceborne SATCOM systems for the transmission of the processed optical data.
To Investigate Applications of Its CubeSat Swarm-Secured System
Ombra was awarded a STTR Phase I in the amount of almost $250,000 to investigate how Ombra’s CubeSat Swarm-Secured System (CS4) might enable In-space Service Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) capabilities being explored by the Department of the Air Force (DAF) and United States Space Force (USSF) through the Orbital Prime program.
CS4 is a CubeSat platform with an integral tethering link for CubeSat swarming capabilities. The platform will contain ample payload space for an intended debris sensing suite and advanced flight controls. The CS4 effort will seek to establish a C-Series Standard, this will leverage common connection types and redundancy techniques to further mitigate risk associated with swarming technologies.
To Investigate Applications of its Manual and Automated Robotics Servicing
Ombra was awarded a STTR Phase I in the amount of almost $250,000 to investigate how Ombra’s Manual and Automated Robotics Servicing (MARS) might enable In-space Service Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) capabilities being explored by the Department of the Air Force (DAF) and United States Space Force (USSF) through the Orbital Prime program.
The software will combine models and a standardized language for repair instructions to enable MARS to perform servicing on any hardware in space. This modeling standard will allow for automated life extension, satellite refueling, on-orbit inspection, end of life servicing. MARS will also provide a manual override to allow for the complete control of these on-orbit operations.
Air Force Research Laboratory and SpaceWERX
The Air Force Research Laboratory and SpaceWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through a faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business, and losing bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution.
The DAF began offering ‘The Open Topic’ SBIR/STTR program in 2018 which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded and Ombra has started its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.
“We are excited to explore how our CubeSat Control System and Manual and Automated Robotics Servicing can support the important work being done by the DAF and USSF,” said Michael Fieldson, founder and president of Ombra.
About Ombra
Ombra is a leading technology and professional services firm that works primarily with the US Department of Defense (DOD). It develops technology products in the areas of biometrics, space technologies, AI, machine learning, power and energy, chemical detection, undersea and more. The team has several US military veterans to solve the technology challenges of the DOD effectively, efficiently, and reliably. Since 2018, Ombra has worked on numerous technology projects for the DOD including for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Special Operations Forces and more. More information at: https://ombra.us
About AFRL
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force and United States Space Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 11,000 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit: www.afresearchlab.com
About SpaceWERX
SpaceWERX is the Space component of AFWERX (a program office at the Air Force Research Laboratory-AFRL) which connects innovators across government, industry, and academia. Through innovation and collaboration with our nation’s top subject-matter experts and harnessing the power of ingenuity of internal talent, by expanding technology, talent, and transition partnerships for rapid and affordable commercial and military capability. Additional information is available at: https://www.spacewerx.us/.
About SpaceWERX Orbital Prime
SpaceWERX Orbital Prime leverages a diverse industry partnership engagement strategy to identify nascent space technology sectors that, if “primed,” could advance U.S. national security and economic prosperity. Prime engagement is not limited to government investment, but also allows SpaceWERX to address key policy concerns as well as offer testbeds and platforms to advance capabilities. The first Space Prime effort, Orbital Prime will invigorate the In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) market using Active Debris Remediation (ADR) as a use case for the foundational technologies. Learn more at https://spacewerx.us/space-prime/.
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For more information:
Mary Mawson, Inside Sales Rep.
Ombra
Email: mawson@ombra.us/
Mobile: +1 844-662-7241 ext. 704
