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Rhea Space Activity, a Washington, D.C.-based startup, is adapting NASA's navigation software for military use under a U.S. Space Force contract. This initiative addresses vulnerabilities in satellite operations due to reliance on GPS.

Selected by Space Force's SpaceWERX under the Sustained Space Maneuver Challenge, Rhea received a $1.9 million contract aimed at enhancing satellite mobility in contested environments. The company is developing autonomous navigation software called Vanguard, which builds on NASA's AutoNav technology.

This software enables spacecraft to navigate using onboard sensors and real-time image processing, allowing for autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) in Earth orbit. Rhea Space is currently testing the software in a physics-based simulation environment to evaluate its capabilities for future integration into Space Force satellites.