The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has begun buying commercial satellite data to track objects in orbit, contracting a commercial operator for a function the intelligence community once kept classified. Vantor, a commercial Earth-intelligence provider formerly known as Maxar Intelligence, won the first task order under NGA's Luno B framework focused on non-Earth imaging, the company confirmed April 1. The award marks Vantor's third contract under the Luno program and the first task order under it specifically targeting orbital tracking rather than ground imaging.
The $2.3 million contract tasks Vantor with automated detection, classification, and alerting on priority objects in low Earth orbit, including flagging maneuvers that could pose collision risks. The operational difference from prior commercial space imaging is the pipeline: after receiving a tasking request, Vantor software determines which satellite can collect imagery of a target and processes the raw data through automated tools that deliver an initial characterization without human analysts working every step. That automation is the point. This is not a research experiment with a long tail of human review. It is a machine-driven pipeline that a government customer can task like a subscription service.
Non-Earth imaging, the observation of spacecraft and debris rather than the ground below, has historically been a classified mission run by U.S. Space Force and intelligence community assets. The Luno B award is the first time an intelligence agency has formally contracted a commercial operator for this tasking under a procurement vehicle designed for commercial geospatial intelligence at scale. Luno A and Luno B combined carry a ceiling of nearly $500 million over five years, making this a structured program rather than a one-off experiment.
Vantor operates seven satellites capable of collecting non-Earth imagery, which the company says is the most commercial collection capacity currently on orbit. The satellites can capture images of spacecraft at resolutions below 10 centimeters from hundreds of kilometers away, fine enough to detect bus dimensions, solar panel configurations, and collision or separation events. "Space domain awareness is an area where exquisite visual intelligence is extremely hard to come by, creating literal and figurative blind spots," said Susanne Hake, executive vice president and general manager for Vantor's U.S. government business, in a statement reported by SpaceNews.
The distinction matters because non-Earth imaging has historically been classified work done by U.S. Space Force and intelligence community assets. This contract formally places commercial operators inside a procurement framework that was designed for Earth-imagery purchases but is now being used for orbital tracking. Whether that framework scales to routine tasking across a larger portfolio of tracked objects and whether other agencies follow NGA's lead will determine whether this marks a structural shift in how the government acquires orbital awareness data or remains a targeted capability for high-priority targets.
The 18th Space Defense Squadron currently tracks more than 40,000 objects in low Earth orbit, a number that climbs every time a large constellation adds satellites or a breakup event scatters debris. Commercial imaging complements the Space Force's existing sensors by providing higher revisit rates and independent characterization not dependent on classified systems. The agency is, in effect, buying orbital awareness data at a commercial price point rather than the classified one it would cost to build and operate dedicated government sensors for the same coverage.
The question is not whether commercial satellites can track space objects. They demonstrably can now. The question is what happens when anyone with a subscription can buy the same data.
