Growing threats to space infrastructure and a better understanding of the implications to national security, business and our lifestyles is focusing governments and large companies on the importance of affordable space security.
Space Machines Company's AI software (Solstice OS) for threat assessment and response automation, combined with low-cost attritable highly manouverable spacecraft (Optimus Viper) is delivering a differentiated dual use solution at the price point needed for both defence and commercial customers.
Demand for both the software and hardware is growing quickly.
Fielding this capability quickly is our focus, with recently hit key milestones:
Space MAITRI has passed its Critical Design Review and entered the build phase
Full propulsion subsystem qualification in flight configuration completed
Optimus Viper was recognised with an Australian Good Design Award
ASCA STARS contract for a space threat analysis and response system awarded
Inaugural winner of the Innovation in Aerospace category at the Endeavour Awards
Enjoy our updates below. 🚀
George
Traditional space operations run on periodic contact windows and response cycles measured in hours. Solstice OS was built to replace that model entirely.
Solstice OS is Space Machines Company's AI-native command and control platform for orbital operations. It delivers continuous, real-time oversight of distributed orbital assets through a single unified interface; connecting space domain awareness data with coordinated fleet response, and compressing the industry's standard detect-to-respond cycle from 1.5+ hours to under 60 seconds.
The platform covers the full mission lifecycle: from planning and trajectory optimisation (with real-time feasibility and resource feedback), through execution, to threat detection and response. Throughout, a human-on-the-loop design philosophy ensures operators retain full authority at every stage. Solstice OS handles the complexity, while the operator focuses on the mission.
Watch: Announcing Solstice OS Autonomous Threat Capability
From observation to action. That's where space defence needs to go.
⚡We are developing autonomous threat detection and response planning capabilities within Solstice OS to compress the entire cycle from detection through to decision. The goal is to process inputs from multiple space domain awareness sources, continuously assess orbital dynamics, predict potential interference windows, and generate courses of action for operators before the window to respond has closed.
Watch our Solstice OS Threat Detection and Analysis capability announcement, below.
Major contract awarded for autonomous space threat analysis:
SMC has secured a $2.9 million contract with Defence Australia's Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) to develop the Space Threat Analysis and Response System (STARS).Read the announcement.
Watch: The Autonomy Stack in Action
There are too many objects in orbit for any human operator to monitor in real time. When one deviates, the window to respond is short. ⚡ This animation walks through a scenario from first detection to resolution: an object deviates from its path, Solstice OS analyses its behaviour and generates response options, and an Optimus Viper is tasked to intercept. The software compresses the OODA loop. The hardware closes the distance. Together, they are the autonomy stack for space resilience. Watch the full scenario, below.
SMC and three partners awarded $2.9million CRC-P grant to develop AI-driven manufacturing for spacecraft production:
The Australian Government will fund a two year collaboration between SMC, the University of Sydney (UTS), the Advanced Manufacturing Readiness Facility (AMRF), and engineering firm Fordyno to build a generative AI design system and rapid manufacturing capability for the Optimus Viper spacecraft, representing a total project investment of $6 million.
Space MAITRI has passed Critical Design Review. An independent review board drawn from government, industry and academia spent two days examining every aspect of the mission design. With the CDR cleared, the mission moves from design into the build phase, on track for a late 2026 launch. Learn about the Space MAITRI mission here.
SMC receive an Australian Good Design Award:
Optimus Viper Rapid Response Vehicle has been awarded Good Design Award Winner status—achieving first-tier design excellence recognition in the 2025 Good Design Australia Awards.🏆
This year's theme, "Rewarding, Defining and Celebrating Better _______", invited entrants to explore what "better" means in their field.
For us that means defining the future of space response. Read morehere.
Endeavour Awards — Innovation in Aerospace:
Space Machines Company has won the inaugural Innovation in Aerospace category at the 2026 Manufacturers' Monthly Endeavour Awards. The recognition is for the Autonomy Stack: Solstice OS and Optimus Viper working together to make space security affordable and accessible. Read morehere.
Watch: Benefits Of Basing SMC At UTS Tech Lab
UTS Tech Lab is the perfect launchpad for our mission 🚀
This partnership strengthens our capability to scale spacecraft production, and it is fundamental to achieving our mission of safeguarding space for everyone 🛰️
Watch a short video on the benefits of the Tech Lab ecosystem, below.
Full propulsion subsystem qualification:
The full Optimus Viper propulsion subsystem has been tested in flight configuration. Flight hardware managed propellant supply at the correct pressure, flow rate, and mixture ratio, exactly as it will fly. The propulsion controller, onboard computer integration, flight software, and ignition system are all designed and built in-house. Read more here.
SelectUSA Investment Summit:
SMC joined the Australian delegation in Washington, D.C. for the 2026 SelectUSA Investment Summit. The conversations reflected the growing strategic alignment between the two countries on space security and industrial capability, with strong interest from U.S. government and economic development bodies in Australia's growing role. A highlight was the delegation's meeting with Deputy Secretary of Commerce Paul Dabbar. Thanks to Austrade and the U.S. Commercial Service for their support.
SMC, the Satellite Applications Catapult, and the University of Sydney have completed SLOSH-CAT, a study into propellant behaviour during rendezvous and proximity operations. Using the Catapult's ISAM Robotics Facility, the team generated high-fidelity experimental data to support more reliable modelling and autonomous control algorithms for close-proximity manoeuvres. Funded by the UK Space Agency under the UK-Australia Space Bridge programme. Read more here.
India Space Congress 2026:
SMC was at India Space Congress (New Delhi, 15–17 June), where the agenda centered on space security and strategic autonomy. Day 3’s focus on SDA, asset protection, and resilient PNT; including NavIC against spoofing and jamming, maps directly to what we are building:
Solstice OS and Optimus Viper for space domain awareness and proximity-protection for high-value orbital assets.
Strong signal that India is treating space as critical national infrastructure, and that demand for sovereign protection capabilities is real and accelerating.
US Space Force Association and The Spacepower Podcast:
🇦🇺 🇺🇸 We are excited to share our recent appearance on The Spacepower Podcast with Bill Woolf, President and CEO of the US Space Force Association, an organisation to which Space Machines Company are now proudly members!
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