ATLAS’s deployment will facilitate the decommissioning of the SPADOC system, a space management tool. Credit: © L3Harris Technologies, Inc.

The US Space Force (USSF) has officially accepted the Advanced Tracking and Launch Analysis System (ATLAS) for operational use.

Developed by L3Harris Technologies, ATLAS is a next-generation Space Development Agency (SDA) analysis system.

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It is designed to integrate critical data for space command and control (C2), intelligence, and operational readiness, enabling effective responses to emerging anti-satellite threats.

L3Harris Space and Airborne Systems president Ed Zoiss said: “This pivotal milestone aligns with Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman’s top priorities at the Space Force to help ensure space superiority, an essential element of our country’s national security.

“The Space Force requires timely, accurate and relevant information to avoid operational surprise, and ATLAS meets this demand by providing essential and actionable space domain awareness.”

This operational acceptance marks a pivotal step in modernising the USSF’s capabilities, replacing the legacy Space Defence Operations Centre (SPADOC) with a more advanced system.

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The initiative to develop ATLAS began in 2018 under the US Air Force and was later expedited by L3Harris following their selection by the USSF in February 2022.

The programme is considered a priority by the Department of Defense (DoD).

ATLAS’s deployment will facilitate the decommissioning of the SPADOC system, a space management tool.

Once deployed, operators and stakeholders will ensure that ATLAS achieves operational acceptance by implementing its Minimum Viable Capabilities (MVCs).

These MVCs include automated processing and maintenance of astrometric baselines, orbit determination, event processing, and satellite conjunction management.

The first MVC to be delivered focuses on observation processing and association, where ATLAS will utilise sensor data to enhance space domain awareness.

In March 2025, L3Harris secured a $90m follow-on contract from the USSF Space Systems Command to further develop and integrate tools that enhance ATLAS’s capabilities. This includes modernising command and control systems to improve satellite and space debris tracking.

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