Slingshot Aerospace (USA) – Strategic-Technological Analysis

Introduction
Slingshot Aerospace is a United States-based deep-tech company pioneering solutions for space domain awareness and orbital safety. Founded in 2017 by U.S. Air Force veterans and technologists, the firm has rapidly gained prominence for its innovative use of artificial intelligence and networked sensors to address the growing challenges of space traffic management. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with additional U.S. offices in California and Colorado[1], Slingshot Aerospace has recently expanded to the United Kingdom as its first overseas base. This transatlantic presence positions the company to engage with European space and defense stakeholders at a time when the EU and NATO are prioritizing independent space surveillance capabilities. By offering advanced tools to track satellites and debris, predict collisions, and counter threats like signal jamming, Slingshot Aerospace addresses critical needs in an era of congested orbits and intensifying great-power competition in space. European defense planners watching the rise of this company see both an opportunity for enhanced cooperation and a prompt to accelerate Europe’s own strategic autonomy in space technology. Slingshot’s story – from a startup in 2017 to a partner of U.S. Space Force and now a prospective ally of European space operators – provides insight into how cutting-edge NewSpace companies can influence the balance between transatlantic partnership and European technological sovereignty.