TAMPA, Fla. — Slingshot Aerospace, which is based in the U.S., is starting offices in the United Kingdom in order to expand its business of coordinating and analyzing space traffic on a global scale.
The new international business division at the Space Systems Operations Facility at Spaceport Cornwall, in southwest England, will be led by Melissa Quinn. She used to lead the Seradata space data analysis team at the company.
In June, Quinn joined Slingshot after spending two and a half years as head of Spaceport Cornwall. The space business cluster also provided the runway for Virgin Orbit’s failed launch from the U.K. in January 2023.
Quinn informed that Slingshot is getting ready to start its operations from Spaceport Cornwall soon and plans to double the team of 10 people in the U.K. this year, aiming to attract more government and commercial customers. SpaceNews, The existing U.K.-based employees include Seradata’s remote-working team, which Slingshot acquired in August 2022.
Slingshot has around 150 employees in the United States, where the company offers a wider range of services, including a tool for controlling space traffic that satellite operators use to coordinate orbital maneuvers and prevent collisions. Slingshot acquired the space division of Colorado-based Numerica in 2022. This division operates a global network of ground-based telescopes to track space objects..
Quinn mentioned that Slingshot plans to open an office in London this summer as part of the company’s effort to deploy its Space Domain Awareness offerings directly from the U.K., covering the company’s global sensor network and simulating the space environment. She added, “We are expanding our operations from the UK, focusing initially on recruiting software engineers and data analysts to develop the data, analytics, services, and business supporting all international operations outside of the US.” Andrew Griffith, the U.K.’s space minister, stated that Slingshot’s British business unit will improve the country’s space sustainability offerings at a time when the government seeks a larger share of the global space industry.
Griffith added, “This expansion will offer international space operators solutions to enhance space safety, sustainability, and security, ensuring the preservation of space for current and future generations.”
Apart from Seradata’s space data analysis users, Slingshot’s customers in the U.K. include OneWeb, the low Earth orbit (LEO) broadband operator recently acquired by Eutelsat of France.
More than 90% of commercial LEO spacecraft currently use the
UK foothold
Slingshot Beacon
platform by Slingshot for space traffic coordination, sharing their satellite data to support safe spaceflight, said Quinn.
She mentioned that Slingshot’s global sensor network also provides millions of observations per year to the U.S. Space Command’s Joint Task Force-Space Defense Commercial Operations Cell (JCO), which includes a U.K.-based unit, to contribute to space security for the U.S., U.K., and their allies.
Last year, Slingshot provided tracking data to help safely move the Inmarsat I-6 F1 satellite to an orbital slot in a congested area of geostationary orbit for Inmarsat, which was recently acquired by the U.S. operator Viasat. Slingshot Aerospace, a company from the United States, is starting to have offices in the United Kingdom in order to grow its business of coordinating and analyzing space traffic around the world. platform for space traffic coordination, sharing their satellite data to support safe spaceflight.
She said Slingshot’s global sensor network also delivers millions of observations per year to the U.S. Space Command’s Joint Task Force-Space Defense Commercial Operations Cell (JCO), which includes a U.K.-based unit, to support space security for the U.S., U.K., and their allies.
Last year, Slingshot also provided tracking data to help safely maneuver the Inmarsat I-6 F1 satellite to an orbital slot in a congested area of geostationary orbit for Inmarsat, the British operator Viasat of the U.S. recently acquired.
