Key facts
- Anduril released one image from its long-wave infrared sensor on Anduril-216 showing the Moon above Earth's horizon.
- Thurn said the sensor can detect spacecraft heat signatures during eclipse periods, when the US has been "fairly blind" to maneuvering.
- Apex Space built the spacecraft platform for Anduril-216, Subramanian said.
- Subramanian said Anduril has no plans to build its own satellite production line and will buy third-party platforms.
- Subramanian said Anduril is not offering the system as a merchant supplier at present.
Anduril released a single image on November 10, 2026 from a long-wave infrared sensor on its Anduril-216 spacecraft, showing the Moon above Earth's horizon. The sensor detects heat signatures from spacecraft even during eclipse periods, when a satellite is in Earth's shadow.
Thurn said the capability lets the US witness "when an adversary or other resident space objects are maneuvering during those eclipse periods, where in the past we've been fairly blind." Engineers adapted imaging technology Anduril uses in its autonomous weapons for use in space, and Thurn said the Moon image offers only a taste of what the instrument can do.
"The long-wave infrared capability we have on orbit can do both unresolved and resolved imagery," Thurn said, adding that the sensor could be used to inspect other satellites if it flies close enough. Anduril is focusing on optimizing the tracking sensor for low-Earth orbit, but it could be used in other orbits and eventually in cislunar space near the Moon, he said.
Apex Space, a satellite-manufacturing startup, built the spacecraft platform for Anduril-216. Subramanian said Anduril has no plans to start its own satellite production line and instead foresees buying third-party platforms and integrating them with sensor and compute modules for different missions.
The compute module on Anduril-216 is designed to fuse data from different kinds of sensors, such as infrared or visible imagers, and generate tracking solutions on its own without ground analysis. Subramanian said Anduril's current focus is acquiring space domain awareness data for sale to the US military, not selling entire satellites or sensors to the government. "At present, Anduril is not offering this system as a merchant supplier," he said. "That could change in the future."