SciTec wins $272 million Space Force contract for data analytics software
Summary
The contract is in support of a new ground system to collect and process data from missile warning satellites WASHINGTON — SciTec, a small business based in Princeton, New Jersey, won a $272 million contract to develop software to analyze data collected by the U.S. military’s early-warning infrared satellites. “After performing competitive prototyping among three nontraditional companies for one year, the down-select and award went to SciTec,” Col. Dan Walter, strategic missile warning senior materiel leader at Space Systems Command, said in a statement. The U.S. Air Force started FORGE in 2019 to serve as the ground system for the current SBIRS constellation and Next-Gen OPIR satellites projected to be launched over the next decade. The new ground system is a “modular and scalable mission data processing architecture that allows for new OPIR sensors to be rapidly incorporated as new threats evolve,” said SSC. “Further, the government owns the technical baseline, which allows for competition of third-party application developers.” David Simenc, SciTec’s executive director, said the company under the new contract will “further develop, tune, and integrate advanced algorithms, signal processing, graphical user interfaces and data communications components.” The FORGE system is about “taking raw sensor data, and normalizing it for downstream exploitation, while simultaneously delivering an open, secure and government-owned solution,” said Simenc.