Mountain View, California: Muon Space, a pioneering company specializing in mission-customized low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, has been awarded Stage II of its contract with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). This new contract phase, part of the NRO’s Strategic Commercial Enhancements (SCE) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Framework, focuses on expanding commercial electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) satellite capabilities, marking a major milestone in Muon Space’s development of advanced infrared sensing technology.
The Stage II award is designed to validate Muon Space’s on-orbit EO/IR performance and further develop its multispectral data capabilities. These capabilities promise global coverage with rapid revisit rates, enabling persistent situational awareness of thermal activity worldwide. This is critical for a variety of national security applications, including intelligence gathering, disaster response, and strategic early warning systems.
Jonny Dyer, CEO of Muon Space, expressed enthusiasm about the contract extension, “This follow-on award signals growing confidence in our ability to deliver timely, high-quality data from space – a core requirement for national security and disaster resilience alike. We are honored to deepen our collaboration with the NRO and to demonstrate how commercial space can play a transformative role in the future of national intelligence and global response.”
Muon Space’s approach centers around its vertically integrated technology platform, Muon Halo, which offers an end-to-end solution from satellite sensing to onboard data processing. This platform supports a wide range of government and commercial missions, enabling rapid adaptation to evolving national security needs.
The company’s flexible satellite architecture and dual-use instrument design allow for multi-mission applications, including:
- Persistent infrared satellite sensing
- Activity-based intelligence
- Disaster response coordination
- Strategic early warning systems
This adaptability ensures that Muon Space’s constellation can continuously enhance operational awareness and decision-making across multiple domains.
The awarded contract phase includes an end-to-end demonstration of Muon Space’s EO/IR capabilities, along with ongoing testing and evaluation by the NRO. This effort underscores the growing role of commercial space companies in supporting national intelligence and defense objectives through innovative technology and rapid deployment.
Muon Space’s advancements represent a critical leap forward in commercial space-based intelligence, offering new levels of data quality, revisit frequency, and mission customization. By leveraging its proprietary technology stack, the company is redefining how Earth intelligence is collected and utilized from space.
Founded in 2021, Muon Space is a vertically integrated space systems company headquartered in Mountain View, California. The company designs, builds, and operates mission-tailored LEO satellite constellations that deliver critical data for real-time decision-making.
This integration enables high-performance, multi-mission capabilities at unprecedented speed-from concept through production to launch.
With state-of-the-art production facilities in California and a growing portfolio of national security and commercial customers, Muon Space is at the forefront of transforming how critical Earth intelligence is delivered from space.
As Muon Space embarks on this next phase of its contract with the NRO, the company is poised to demonstrate the full potential of commercial EO/IR satellite technology. The success of this program could pave the way for expanded collaborations with government agencies and further innovation in satellite sensing, ultimately enhancing global security and resilience.
The partnership between Muon Space and the NRO exemplifies the increasing integration of commercial space capabilities into national security frameworks, highlighting a future where space-based intelligence is more accessible, responsive, and impactful than ever before.
