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What is Delta? LeoLabs unveils new ai-based space surveillance system. 9 April 2026 Credit: LeoLabs LeoLabs has unveiled Delta, an AI-powered space domain awareness platform that moves the company firmly into the defence and intelligence arena for the U.S. and its allies. Delta replaces LeoGuard for military users. Delta is LeoLabs' new flagship system for space domain awareness, replacing its earlier LeoGuard service. It is targeting national security missions rather than just satellite operators. The system uses the company's global phased-array radar network and commercial catalogue of low Earth orbit (LEO) objects to monitor satellites and debris in real time. Delta does more than avoid collisions. It analyses movement, flags unusual behaviour, and turns raw orbital data into alerts operators can quickly act on. By 2030, tens of thousands of satellites are expected to operate in LEO, including more assets from adversary nations. This growing congestion makes that kind of automation essential. From "where is it?" to "what is it doing and why?" Delta tracks specific manoeuvre patterns that can signal hostile intent, not just routine station-keeping. One key behaviour is "co-planar" manoeuvring. In this case, a satellite adjusts its orbit to share the same plane as a target spacecraft, enabling repeated close approaches, shadowing, or inspection. The system also looks for satellites that repeatedly close distance on high-value assets in ways that do not match their declared mission or typical operational profiles. To do that, Delta combines radar data with contextual information such as operator, nation, and mission type. This helps users distinguish between a drifting upper stage and a potential inspection or counter-space platform. Commercial data, military use. For years, space surveillance and threat assessment were mainly the job of military organisations like U.S. Space Command, using classified sensors and internal analysis tools. That system is now under pressure as satellite numbers grow and legacy architectures struggle to scale. LeoLabs and similar providers are stepping in with unclassified global radar coverage and cloud-based analytics that can be shared quickly among allied nations. Early reports suggest that allied countries in Asia and Europe have already integrated Delta into daily operations. This points to a genuine gap in existing capabilities. What this means for space security. The launch of Delta also underlines a broader shift. Space situational awareness is no longer only about safety; it is now clearly a defence and intelligence product category. Market leaders will be companies that evolve from selling raw tracking data to delivering actionable intelligence. Governments will keep their classified sensors and in-house analysis. But commercial tools like Delta are increasingly being used as complementary layers, especially for allied information-sharing and monitoring large, distributed LEO constellations. As more defence-oriented satellite networks come online, demand for systems that can pick out hostile behaviour from a crowded orbital environment is only set to grow. Last updated: 9th Apr 2026 Published by Natalia Nichyshyna

LeoLabs receives contract from the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Space Force to jointly license its Object Catalog for Space safety and security missions. * By LeoLabs, Inc. * Dec 9, 2025 Updated Dec 9, 2025 * 0 * 2 min to read Contract leverages the nation's leading commercial source of persistent Orbital Intelligence in Low Earth Orbit to support TraCSS and JCO mission requirements MENLO PARK, Calif., Dec. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - LeoLabs, the world's leading mission partner for persistent Orbital Intelligence, announced it was awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) Office of Space Commerce (OSC) and the U.S. Space Force (USSF) Joint Commercial Operations cell (JCO) to license access to the company's Object Catalog. The contract, awarded on 30 September 2025, marks the first time multiple agencies across the U.S. government are collaborating to utilize LeoLabs' space surveillance data at scale to support multiple space safety and security missions to provide best value to the American taxpayer. This milestone aligns with the Presidential Executive Order (EO) on Ensuring Commercial, Cost-Effective Solutions in Federal Contracts, demonstrating the EO's success in driving interagency adoption of innovative, efficient commercial technologies to enhance national space interests. This interagency adoption signals LeoLabs' emergence as the nation's leading commercial source of persistent Orbital Intelligence. LeoLabs maintains the highest quality and most comprehensive commercial catalog of objects and activity in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at nearly 25,000 resident space objects. The company currently tracks 99.3% of the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) public catalog, including 99.96% of all satellites and 98.56% of all debris. Under this contract, it will deliver its full public catalog, as well as radar observations, object state updates, and maneuver detection data, to the USSF Unified Data Library (UDL) for use by the OSC and the JCO. The OSC will evaluate how to best integrate a fully commercial catalog into the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS). TraCSS users and development partners will now be able to understand how LeoLabs data can deliver timely and actionable alerts and insights for the space safety mission in LEO. The JCO will also receive full access to LeoLabs Object Catalog for Space Domain Awareness, building on the work LeoLabs had been doing to monitor and conduct threat assessments for adversarial spacecraft in LEO. "We are excited to demonstrate how LeoLabs can take on critical missions that until recently were exclusively supported by the U.S. Government," said LeoLabs CEO Tony Frazier. This contract is among several LeoLabs received from the U.S. Government in 2025 to address escalating threats in space by leveraging the company's foundational data and next-generation radar technology. It has grown its U.S. Government bookings by over 180% since 2024, with $29.4M in contract awards year to date as of September 2025. In June, LeoLabs was selected for TraCSS' Commercial Collision Avoidance Gap Pathfinder effort, which addresses the period immediately after launch when there is an elevated window of collision risk. In August, LeoLabs entered a Space Act Agreement with NASA to evaluate the company's data and determine its applications for new NASA conjunction assessment missions. The Space Act agreement will further validate that LeoLabs data can be integrated with other data sources, including DoD data, for broader U.S. Government applications. In addition, LeoLabs received two awards from USSF SpaceWERX to advance and proliferate its next-generation radars that enhance the company's ability to detect and characterize emerging threats and unlock new mission areas, such as tracking hypersonic activity and objects in very low Earth orbit (VLEO). Under a Strategic Funding Increase, LeoLabs is building an Ultra High Frequency Seeker-class radar in the lndoPacific region. Under a Tactical Funding Increase, LeoLabs is developing a software upgrade to detect and track foreign launches to deploy aboard Scout, the mobile radar class the company unveiled in April. About LeoLabs LeoLabs enables military space commands, civil government agencies, and commercial operators to confidently detect, track, characterize, and respond to threats in space. Our proliferated, multi-mission radar network, real-time orbital data catalog, and AI-powered analytics support secure, safe, and dynamic space operations. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/leolabs-receives-contract-from-the-us-department-of-commerce-and-us-space-force-to-jointly-license-its-object-catalog-for-space-safety-and-security-missions-302635996.html