NASA has awarded a contract to Omitron Inc. for orbital safety analysis services. According to NASA, these services provide critical protection for NASA spaceflight assets and astronaut lives.
The contract
- Value: approximately 23.5 million US dollars.
- Duration: five year period of performance.
- Type: indefinite-delivery contract.
What Omitron will do
- Conjunction assessment screening for all NASA uncrewed spacecraft.
- Support for human spaceflight activities.
- Orbital safety analysis support for NOAA's Office of Space Commerce.
The work will take place at Omitron's location in Beltsville, Maryland, at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Johnson Space Center, at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren in Virginia and at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado.
What conjunction assessment means
Conjunction assessment checks whether two objects in orbit are predicted to come dangerously close. If the collision risk is too high, a satellite can perform an avoidance manoeuvre. With more satellites and debris in orbit, this screening has become a routine and essential part of operating spacecraft. Our guide to space situational awareness explains the process in detail.
Frequently asked questions
What is conjunction assessment?
The screening of predicted close approaches between objects in orbit, used to decide whether a satellite needs to manoeuvre to avoid a collision.
Who receives orbital safety analysis under this contract?
According to NASA, all NASA uncrewed spacecraft, human spaceflight activities and NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce.
Related reading
- Space Situational Awareness: How Satellites Avoid Collisions
- Space Debris Rules: What Satellite Operators Need to Plan For
- Satellite End of Life: Deorbiting, Graveyard Orbits and Passivation
Sources
Cover image: The first quarter Moon setting over the Pacific Ocean, photographed from the International Space Station on 24 February 2026. Credit: NASA/Chris Williams (iss074e0325229), public domain.