Defence has signed a $37 million deal to deploy a classified version of a cloud-based data repository that is used for space situational awareness.
The deal builds on work that has been underway at Defence since late 2023, which trialled the concept – called a unified data library or UDL – on a non-classified basis.
The UDL is based on technology from Bluestaq, which previously built a similar system for US authorities.
Defence has previously pointed to the Commonwealth’s increased reliance “on space capabilities to achieve military effectiveness across all domains”, noting that “space is recognised as an increasingly congested, contested and competitive operational domain as both commercial enterprises and nation states expand their presence” there.
The UDL is intended to assist with that by cataloguing and tracking the orbital paths of artificial objects such as satellites and debris.
The data library built by Bluestaq for the US, for example, contains “vast amounts of space data ranging from launch notifications, track and positional data, conjunction assessments (when two residents space objects pass within a certain number of kilometers of each other), maneuvering messages, and [a] catalogue of space objects”, according to a 2024 US Space Systems Command article.
Australia’s Defence Department started a trial of an Australian non‑classified UDL in December 2023.
iTnews understands that the trial showed that a safe and Australian‑owned data system could provide timely and high-capacity data handling for the large amounts of information needed by the department.
It’s understood that the system is now fully approved, secure, and being used long‑term. under SPACE 9360, a project to improve how Australia’s Space Command understands space-based activity.
A Defence spokesperson told iTnews that the $37 million contract with Bluestaq – its largest ever single contract with the vendor – would pay for a classified version of the UDL capability.
“Defence has entered into a further contract with Bluestaq to provide project support services to facilitate the rollout of a classified version of the UDLfor space situational awareness data on Defence’s secure networks,” the spokesperson told iTnews.
“This work builds on the success of the non-classified UDL, also delivered in partnership with Bluestaq.”
The new contract with Bluestaq runs through to mid-2028.
