WASHINGTON — Anduril Industries said it plans to acquire ExoAnalytic Solutions, a company that operates one of the world’s largest commercial networks of telescopes used to track satellites and space debris, in a move that expands the defense technology firm’s push into national-security space programs.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
ExoAnalytic, a privately held company with about 130 employees in California, Colorado and Alabama, operates roughly 400 ground-based optical telescopes that monitor objects in orbit and provide data to the U.S. government for space domain awareness and missile defense missions. Its systems generate billions of observations used to track satellite maneuvers, detect anomalies and monitor the growing population of spacecraft and debris in orbit.
The company drew attention in late 2021 when its telescope network helped reveal that China’s Shijian-21 satellite had rendezvoused with a defunct spacecraft and moved it into a graveyard orbit above geostationary altitude, an operation Beijing had not publicly detailed.
For Anduril, the acquisition is intended to strengthen its ability to integrate space-based data into defense systems. The California-based company, which develops autonomous systems and command-and-control software for national security missions, has about 7,000 employees nationwide and more than $1 billion in annual revenue.
The purchase will significantly expand its space business. Anduril currently employs about 120 people in its space division, meaning the addition of ExoAnalytic would more than double the size of that unit.
Once regulatory approvals are completed, ExoAnalytic will be folded into Anduril’s space and engineering division rather than operating as a standalone subsidiary, said Gokul Subramanian, senior vice president of space and engineering at Anduril.
Anduril has been working with ExoAnalytic on various projects for about two years, Subramanian said. “The acquisition would accelerate Anduril’s work supporting national security space customers.”
Space tracking and missile defense
The companies see space tracking as increasingly central to missile defense and military operations in orbit. ExoAnalytic’s network produces optical observations that can complement satellite-based sensors, helping identify and track objects in space and detect unusual behavior.
The company has argued its data could support the Golden Dome missile defense architecture proposed by the Trump administration, which would rely on multiple layers of sensors to track missiles throughout their flight. Ground-based optical observations could help fill gaps in coverage and provide additional data for discrimination and targeting.
Anduril’s interest in the field is tied to its broader effort to build integrated sensing and command-and-control systems. The company’s flagship product, known as Lattice, is a software platform designed to fuse data from radars, drones, ground sensors and satellites into a unified operational picture for military users.
Space surveillance data fits directly into that approach, providing information on satellite movements and other orbital activity that can feed into missile warning, threat assessment and targeting systems.
Subramanian said the combined company plans to incorporate ExoAnalytic’s tracking capabilities into Anduril’s products while also considering selling space-tracking data to outside customers.
Another motivation for the deal is Anduril’s own plans to operate spacecraft. The company is planning to launch three self-funded space missions over the coming year aimed at demonstrating sensing, maneuvering and onboard data-processing capabilities.
One mission involves a partnership with Argo Space, flying Anduril sensors and computing hardware on a maneuverable spacecraft designed to test space domain awareness and autonomous processing during dynamic orbital maneuvers.
A second mission, with Impulse Space, will send an Anduril infrared sensor and mission processor to geosynchronous orbit aboard the Mira space tug to demonstrate rendezvous and proximity operations near satellites in GEO.
A third effort involves hosting Anduril payloads on small satellite buses built by manufacturers such as Apex to support future defense constellations focused on missions including satellite tracking and missile warning.
The acquisition of ExoAnalytic is “the next step in that journey,” Subramanian said.