The new software builds on the company’s highly regarded Predictive Ground Station Interface (PIGI) platform, which helped establish Saber Astronautics as a pioneer in spacecraft operations by introducing digital twin technology and machine learning to satellite health management more than a decade ago.
Originally developed in 2010 and released in 2012, PIGI became the company’s flagship operations platform and was later recognised as a NASA Spinout.
It was the first software globally to successfully apply machine learning to spacecraft diagnostics, enabling operators to identify the root causes of spacecraft health issues before they became critical.
PIGI also broke new ground in satellite constellation visualisation, becoming the first Unity game engine-based digital twin to receive fielding authority from the US Space Force.
The technology laid the foundation for Saber Astronautics’ Space Battle Management System, which is now employed across US Space Force Combat Command Deltas to support space domain awareness and protect-and-defend missions.
According to Saber Astronautics CEO Dr Jason Held, Saber Commander represents the next stage in that technological evolution.
“PIGI was about reducing the barrier to entry to satellites, making it easier and safer to fly,” Held said.
“Saber Commander carries that heritage forward, with new automation, visualisation and operational scale that modern satellite constellations require.”
Developed in close collaboration with the company’s own satellite operators, Saber Commander has been shaped by practical operational experience gained through Saber Astronautics’ Responsive Space Operations Centres in Australia and the United States.
The company currently manages approximately 36 tonnes of spacecraft in orbit, providing its engineering teams with firsthand experience of the operational demands facing commercial and government satellite operators.
That operational insight has driven the development of a platform focused on delivering faster situational awareness, improved decision support, greater automation and significantly reduced manual workload for mission teams managing increasingly congested orbital environments.
Head of product engineering Chris Schuck said the new platform reflects everything the company has learned from more than a decade of spacecraft operations.
“Saber Commander takes everything we learned from our first generation of products and turned it into a platform built for the realities of modern space operations,” Schuck said.
“Larger fleets and congested orbits demand a smarter approach. We designed Commander hand in hand with operators to bring automation, commanding, monitoring and situational awareness together into a single platform to reduce operator workload while giving greater confidence and control."
“I’m incredibly proud of what our team has built, and excited to see what our customers achieve with it.”
The launch of Saber Commander comes as satellite constellations continue to expand rapidly, driving demand for software capable of managing larger fleets, increasingly autonomous missions and more crowded orbital environments.
By integrating command and control, monitoring, automation and operational decision support into a single platform, Saber Astronautics aims to equip both commercial and government operators with the tools needed to manage the next generation of space missions.
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