USSF, AFRL clear key milestone for cislunar capability

Engineers from US Space Force and Air Force Research Laboratory prepare an Oracle-M testbed for a hot fire test at Edwards Air Force Base in California. (US Space Force/AFRL)

The US Space Force (USSF) and US Air Force (USAF) have cleared a key milestone towards creating a space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capability at cislunar orbit, according to service officials.

The Oracle-Mobile (Oracle-M) pathfinder satellite, developed by Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and USSF's Space Systems Command (SSC), completed propulsion testing during a series of service-led evaluations at Edwards Air Force Base in California in May, a joint AFRL and USSF statement said in the same month.

“This was the first time the entire propulsion system was fired as a fully integrated module, which … served as a major risk reduction effort, ensuring that the propulsion system functions as expected in space,” SSC programme officials said in the statement.

Oracle-M is one of two experimental satellite testbeds developed by AFRL for cislunar operations. The primary mission of the Oracle-M system is to demonstrate “mobility in cislunar space, and experiment with tracking known cislunar objects”, according to an AFRL fact sheet.

“This mission will allow AFRL to assess strengths and weaknesses of navigation techniques needed for future operational systems,” USAF lab officials added. Cislunar refers to the space orbit between the Earth and the Moon, above low Earth orbit (LEO) and below medium Earth orbit (MEO) and geosynchronous orbit (GEO).

Specifically, the Oracle-M mission will allow for “tracking and trajectory estimation for monitoring cislunar objects, cloud-based ground operations … [and] support data collection and distribution to [ISR systems] charged with maintaining cislunar situational awareness”, programme officials said in the May statement.