Huntsville aerospace and defense company Aurex has successfully completed the inaugural launch of its fly-along sensor package during a suborbital mission at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
The mission, known as “Blast,” launched aboard Rocket Lab’s Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron vehicle in support of the Defense Innovation Unit and the Missile Defense Agency.
The suborbital flight was designed to advance missile defense testing and hypersonic technology development.
At the center of Aurex’s participation was its Sensor Package for Optical Characterization and Ballistic Observation of Targets, or SPOCBOT. The compact sensor system is designed to separate from a target vehicle during flight and collect in-flight phenomenology data, which includes optical and ballistic observations critical to missile defense analysis.
Company officials said the technology is intended to improve the ability to gather detailed flight data during future missile defense target missions.
“SPOCBOT and related flight hardware that will be going up on future missions are critical for Aurex and will continue to be important as we help our customers expand hypersonic technology readiness for the nation,” said Warren Kohm, chief executive officer of Aurex.
The successful flight marks the first launch of Aurex’s fly-along sensor technology and represents a milestone for the Huntsville-based company as it expands its role in missile defense and hypersonic systems development.
Aurex focuses on hypersonic systems, missile defense, hardened networks and orbital platforms serving defense, space and national security customers. The company is headquartered in Huntsville and maintains offices across the United States.
