BQP Awarded First Federal Contract to Advance Quantum-Assisted AI for Space Domain Awareness

SpaceWERX validates BQP's physics-constrained machine learning technology for identifying unknown objects in orbit

SYRACUSE, N.Y., July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- BosonQ Psi Federal LLC (BQP) has secured its first federal contract, awarded through the SpaceWERX Open Topic Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The New York-based company builds mission-critical applications on BQPhy®, a quantum-accelerated backend platform for engineering and physics intelligence helping enterprises leverage quantum algorithms and high-performance computing.

The award marks a major milestone for the company, providing non-dilutive federal research funding, establishing BQP's entry into the U.S. federal market, and enabling close collaboration with SDA stakeholders to address critical challenges in tracking and understanding the space environment. BQP will develop and validate a new Physics-Constrained Quantum-Assisted Machine Learning (PC-QAML) software application designed to improve the speed and accuracy of identifying unknown objects and behaviors in Earth's increasingly congested orbital environment.

Each day, the U.S. Space Surveillance Network collects between 18,000 and 25,000 observations of objects in orbit. Thousands of those detections cannot immediately be matched to known satellites or debris and are classified as Uncorrelated Tracks (UCTs). These unidentified objects can represent newly launched satellites, fragments from collisions, or potentially adversarial systems designed to evade tracking. The inability to rapidly classify these objects can delay operational decisions and reduce overall space situational awareness.

BQP's software application combines physics-based modeling with quantum-inspired computational techniques to perform highly accurate AI inference using models that are both more efficient and 99% more compact. Rather than relying on cloud computing, GPUs, or future quantum hardware, the approach is designed to run directly on space-qualified processors and other resource-constrained edge devices.

"Our goal is to make advanced AI practical where it matters most: on satellites and forward-deployed systems operating with limited computing power and intermittent communications," said Rut Lineswala, Founder and CTO of BQP. "This award represents an important validation of our technology and gives us the opportunity to demonstrate how quantum-inspired computing can solve real operational challenges for national security today."

Similar results have been shown in other applications. According to BQP, PC-QAML reduces AI model size from 14 million to 2,000 parameters, a reduction of 99%, while maintaining greater than 99% classification accuracy. The resulting architecture delivers up to a tenfold reduction in inference latency, approximately 90% lower power consumption, and significantly faster model retraining compared to conventional machine learning approaches. This reduction enabled deployment of PC-QAML on edge-device (NVIDIA Jetson Nano) at the BMC3I TAP LAB, formerly known as SDA TAP Lab, unlocking practical on-orbit computing for autonomous space domain awareness missions/applications.

These capabilities are particularly valuable for Space Domain Awareness (SDA), where satellites and remote sensing platforms must rapidly distinguish between routine orbital activity and potentially threatening behaviors such as satellite maneuvers, separation events, rendezvous and proximity operations, or electronic interference. By enabling autonomous analysis at the tactical edge, the technology has the potential to reduce dependence on centralized computing infrastructure while improving operational responsiveness.

The effort builds on BQP's previous work with the Space Domain Awareness Tap Lab and supports mission objectives for both Space Operations Command (SpOC) Mission Delta 2 and Space Systems Command (SSC). During the 2025 SDA Mini-Accelerator, the company's approach demonstrated promising results for orbital separation detection and was identified as a candidate solution for future UCT classification and Threat Simulation Catalog integration.

Beyond defense, the underlying technology also has potential commercial applications anywhere high-performance AI must operate on compact, low-power hardware. By significantly reducing computational requirements without sacrificing accuracy, the approach could enable faster, more efficient AI deployment across autonomous systems, aerospace platforms, industrial monitoring, and other edge computing environments.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of War, or the U.S. government.

About BosonQ Psi Federal LLC
BosonQ Psi Federal LLC (BQP), a New York-based federal affiliate of BosonQ Psi Corp, is developing mission-critical quantum-accelerated AI applications for defense, aerospace, and national security. Leveraging BQPhy®, a physics intelligence platform, BQP delivers edge-deployable, quantum-inspired machine learning solutions for space domain awareness and other mission-critical applications.

Learn more at https://www.bqpsim.com

About SpaceWERX
SpaceWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force and a division of AFWERX, partners with startups, small businesses and nontraditional vendors to accelerate commercial space technologies for Guardians. Headquartered in Los Angeles, SpaceWERX connects industry innovation with defense needs to deliver capabilities faster. In partnership with Space Systems Command's Commercial Space Office, SpaceWERX bridges innovation and acquisition to accelerate capability adoption. In fiscal year 2025, SpaceWERX awarded more than 300 contracts totaling $510 million.

For more information, visit spacewerx.us.

Media Contact:
Ludington Media on behalf of BQP
New York, NY
[email protected]
551-795-5950

SOURCE BosonQ Psi Federal LLC (BQP)