Sierra Lobo, Inc. SBIR Phase I Award, February 2022

Sierra Lobo has developed a long wave infrared imager for Earth surface temperature measurement, as well as a cubesat designed around the imager. Although the imager’s primary purpose is generation of data for weather and climate models, the imager could be repurposed for ISR. The instrument and cubesat are designed for production at low cost, making it affordable to deploy a constellation of cubesats for low revisit times (< 24 hr). We propose in Phase I to define Air Force/Space Force needs, identify potential modifications to the imager, and perform conceptual design of constellations incorporating the imager. Successful completion of Phase I would lead to building a cubesat in Phase II for integration with the imager. A demonstration mission would follow Phase II.