DASA Alert Mission

Thanks to new funding from the UK Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) through the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) Open Call for Innovation, ALERT marks a major step forward in our ability to detect and track objects in space through thermal imaging. This mission represents the next phase of our collaborative journey with Dstl and DASA, aimed at delivering scalable, high-performance sensing technologies for defence, security, and space debris monitoring.

Scheduled to start operations in Q1 2026, ALERT will test a suite of thermal imaging payloads, including both off-the-shelf and proprietary instruments such as SPIRIT. These sensors are designed to capture thermal data around the clock, extending beyond the limitations of visible-band SDA systems. ALERT’s ability to operate 24-7 and in untracked modes offers unprecedented coverage and flexibility.

The mission’s objectives include:

• Space Domain Awareness (SDA): Monitoring and identifying satellites in Low Earth Orbit by their heat signatures, enabling satellite health checks, anomaly detection (e.g. loss of power), and characterisation of foreign assets.
• Space Debris Tracking: Capturing thermal imagery of defunct satellites and debris to help assess re-entry trajectories and collision risks.

With ALERT, SuperSharp is unlocking new capabilities in orbital awareness and satellite diagnostics.

This mission demonstrates our commitment to delivering resilient, all-hour observation technologies that empower decision-makers with real-time, actionable insights. We are grateful for the continued support of Dstl, DASA, and our institutional collaborators, and we look forward to setting a new benchmark in TIR-enabled space intelligence.