True Anomaly‘s first two Jackal autonomous orbital vehicles (AOVs) have arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base and have completed functional testing, fueling, and mating to the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rideshare plate. The satellites are officially ready for launch as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-10 mission no earlier than March of 2024.
Once on orbit, True Anomaly will commence with “Mission X”—what the company has internally dubbed the flight test and demo of the first two Jackal AOVs. The Jackals will capture high-resolution images and full-motion video (FMV) of one another while maneuvering in close proximity. This type of activity, known as rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO), is one of the most challenging space missions to master.
The goals of Mission X are to demonstrate RPO for advanced non-Earth imaging, test and evaluation, and on-demand training. With this milestone, True Anomaly is one step closer to delivering space capabilities that support deterrence and secure space for future generations.
“What the True Anomaly team has accomplished in just under 18 months is incredible,” said Sean Ozdemir, Director of Spacecraft Development. “What began with a white board and three-person team working in a small office above a coffee shop has transformed into a 35-person spacecraft team with exceptional breadth and depth of industry expertise. Not only did the team build two complex and capable ESPA-class spacecraft—they stood up the production process, in-house test facilities, and built the factory in parallel. I’m extremely proud of this team for accomplishing this milestone and look forward to soon validating our capabilities on-orbit.”
“Not all spacecraft fit into the binary designations of ‘expensive and effective’ or ‘inexpensive, but compromised,’” said Even Rogers, True Anomaly CEO and Co-Founder. “With the Jackal AOV, we’ve designed an attritable system with which we can iterate quickly and build rapidly at scale without compromising on mission effectiveness. This is a new class of space vehicle, purpose-built for national security space missions. It was designed for operators, by operators in partnership with world-class engineers. I could not be prouder of our team for designing, building, and testing two novel spacecraft in record time without sacrificing on excellence and quality. We acknowledge that the hard proof lies ahead of us as we look toward the Jackals’ first orbital flight and tech demonstrations. Go, Jackal. Go, True Anomaly. Go, U.S. Space Force!”
