GoKawiilAnduril's Anduril-216 satellite demonstrates infrared tracking of spacecraft in darkness
Anduril says its first satellite, launched in July on a SpaceX rideshare, uses a long-wave infrared sensor adapted from its weapons systems to detect the heat signatures of other spacecraft even when they pass through Earth's shadow. The oven-sized satellite orbits at about 590 km and spends roughly a third of each orbit in darkness, a period when company officials say existing US tracking systems are largely blind. It also carries two visible-light cameras and an onboard computer that fuses the feeds and generates tracking solutions without ground analyst input.