WASHINGTON — Space technology startup True Anomaly announced a key milestone after successfully deploying and establishing communication with its Jackal satellite on its second mission.
True Anomaly is seeking to carve out a niche in the defense and national security market with spacecraft designed for military orbital operations and space domain awareness.
The Jackal satellite launched Dec. 21 on SpaceX’s Bandwagon-2 rideshare mission was the company’s third spacecraft sent to orbit. The first two launched in March 2024 to low Earth orbit to demonstrate rendezvous and proximity operations, but communication was lost with the satellites shortly after launch.
True Anomaly’s co-founder and CEO Even Rogers said in a statement Dec. 23 that Jackal’s second mission was successful. “We have now successfully contacted, downlinked data, and commanded Jackal, our Autonomous Orbital Vehicle, via Mosaic, our software platform, as it makes laps around the Earth,” he said.
‘Learnings from first launch’
In the company’s second mission, the Jackal is serving as a testbed for upgraded hardware and software. “The team incorporated many of the learnings and product improvements from its first launch,” said Rogers.
This mission gives the company momentum as it prepares to execute a more complex one under contract with the U.S. Space Force. True Anomaly is slated to participate in the Victus Haze mission in 2025, part of the military’s Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) program. The program aims to demonstrate advanced in-orbit rendezvous and proximity operations, with True Anomaly’s Jackal working alongside a Rocket Lab spacecraft.
Over the next year, True Anomaly plans to continue refining Jackal’s capabilities, said Chief Strategy Officer Frank DiPentino. The company manufactures its satellites in Centennial, Colorado.
