The AAO’s Omnidirectional Wide-angle Locator (OWL) prototype was developed with two Australian companies, HEO Robotics and Sitle, supported by a $500,000 Defence Innovation Network grant, and features an innovative gimballed mirror that lets cameras quickly find and track their targets without requiring spacecraft to alter course.
“This will bring a step-change in the performance of space cameras,” says Associate Professor Lee Spitler, Head of Space Projects at AAO and Principal Investigator on the project.
“Our mirror prototype will allow a camera to point in multiple directions without relying on spacecraft manoeuvres, minimising disruption to primary mission operations.”
The technology addresses a critical challenge in space domain awareness where objects move at extremely high speeds, often resulting in blurred images or missed targets entirely. The AAO solution addresses this need with a moving mirror system.
“Moving heavy things in space creates an opposite and equal reaction to the spacecraft,” explains Associate Professor Spitler.
“Our design solves this by keeping the camera and motors stationary, instead only moving a lightweight mirror. It’s a very simple system and elegant solution to an ongoing problem in space.”
Satellite maintenance challenge
Initially, the technology could be deployed to address a growing problem emerging from traffic congestion in the space around Earth.
With over 34,000 tracked objects and millions of debris pieces travelling at speeds up to 28,000 km/h, satellites face constant collision risks that threaten critical infrastructure like GPS and communications systems.
AAO’s camera system allows satellites to make space monitoring more efficient by quickly photograph and track these fast-moving objects, rapidly identifying potential maintenance issues or potential collision.
The collaboration involves AAO and three partners: Sydney-based space company HEO, which helps satellite operators and governments visually monitor spacecraft and space objects using Earth observation satellites transformed into inspection platforms through proprietary software; Newcastle-based space engineering and satellite edge computing specialists Sitle; and the Defence Innovation Network.
“OWL shows the impact of strong collaboration between universities and industry,” says Hiranya Jayakody, CTO & Co-Founder of HEO.
“The research and development work conducted by Macquarie University and UNSW shows promise in enabling in-orbit optics to operate in an agile manner, a capability especially important to non-Earth imaging.”
HEO has commercialised the world’s first in-orbit satellite inspection service, making satellite-to-satellite imaging accessible through a simple online platform.
“HEO made this as simple as jumping on a website and taking a picture of your favourite satellites – nobody has done that before,” says Associate Professor Spitler.
“Sitle is proud to have contributed to this project by deriving the mechanics of the mirror mechanism and writing control software to enable OWL to actively track targets.
“It’s a great showcase of some of Sitle’s capabilities,” says James Buttenshaw, CEO & co-founder of Newcastle-based engineering specialists Sitle, who worked with AAO and HEO on the build.
Demonstrating this technology when Sydney is hosting the world’s largest space conference is an exciting opportunity to show that Australian space technology can compete globally, Associate Professor Spitler adds.
The IAC 2025 conference will host over 14,000 expected attendees from the global space community and highlight opportunities across industries including emergency services, telecommunications, agriculture, and smart cities.
The OWL demonstration will take place at the Australian Astronomical Optics booth on Monday, September 29, with additional presentations throughout the conference week. A technical paper on the technology will be presented at the conference on Wednesday morning.
About Australian Astronomical Optics
Australian Astronomical Optics is a market-facing business unit within Macquarie University and has been at the forefront of space and astronomical instrumentation for five decades. AAO specialises in precision optical systems and has contributed to major international space missions and ground-based observatories worldwide.
