Scout Space is Awarded an AFWERX SBIR Phase II

A Highly-Efficient and Scalable Conjunction Assessment Framework for On-Orbit Spacecraft Protection

RESTON, VA, UNITED STATES, September 17, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Scout Space Inc announces it has been selected by AFWERX for a SBIR Phase II in the amount of $1.25M focused on Scout Space’s novel conjunction assessment technique toward next-generation Space Traffic Management (STM) and autonomous on orbit asset self-protect capabilities, to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF). The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and eliminating 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 now on August 14th, 2025, Scout Space starts its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.

“By advancing its uniquely efficient approach, Scout aims to provide actionable collision risk data products across the ever-growing catalogue of tracked objects into the future,” said Philip Hover-Smoot, CEO of Scout Space. “This award allows us to accelerate development of our technology, delivering scalable solutions to enhance operational safety, resilience, and mission assurance across the space domain.”

With this award, Scout Space reaffirms its commitment to advancing autonomous space safety technologies and supporting the Department of the Air Force in safeguarding U.S. assets in orbit.

About Scout Space
Scout Space Inc. is a nontraditional contractor and small business that was founded in 2019 with the goal of delivering autonomous intelligence and security across all orbital regimes in the face of an increasingly dangerous space environment. The company is developing and deploying a family of in-space sensors to perform in-orbit collection, processing, exploitation, and provide autonomy capabilities in support of counter space and space sensing mission areas. This on-orbit processing delivers mission-critical and actionable intelligence within a space-to-space sensing domain, and demonstrates novel exploitation approaches. All systems leverage our proprietary flight software and AI, which can also be deployed on non-Scout sensors. For more information, visit www.scout.space.

About AFRL
The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace forces. With a workforce spanning across nine technology areas and 40 other operations around the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit afresearchlab.com.

About AFWERX
As the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. AFWERX employs approximately 370 military, civilian and contractor personnel at four hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4 billion budget. Since 2019, AFWERX has awarded over 10,400 contracts worth more than $7.24 billion to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: afwerx.com.

Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.

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Courtney Sayles
Scout Space Inc
courtney.sayles@scout.space

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