Inside Delta 7: Kestrel Joins the Catalyst Accelerator
We're proud to announce that Kestrel has been selected for the Catalyst Accelerator's 16th cohort, a program run in partnership with the U.S. Space Force's Space Delta 7, the unit responsible for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations across the space domain.
The cohort, focused on AI/ML Orchestration for ISR, brings together six companies working on the hardest problems in autonomous collection management. Over three months at Catalyst Campus in Colorado Springs, we'll work directly with government navigators, technical advisors, and operational end users to refine Kestrel Intelligence for space-based ISR missions.
Why Delta 7 matters
Space Delta 7 is where the Space Force does ISR. They operate the sensors, process the data, and deliver intelligence products to warfighters and decision-makers across the Department of Defense. Their challenge is the same one the entire intelligence community faces, amplified by the unique physics of orbital mechanics: how do you orchestrate a heterogeneous constellation of sensors (military, commercial, allied) to maintain persistent awareness of a rapidly evolving threat environment?
This is precisely the problem Kestrel was built to solve. Our multi-agent AI system networks disparate sensors across domains and orchestrates them toward mission objectives. The platform handles the coordination complexity that currently consumes analyst hours and introduces latency into the kill chain.
What we're building toward
The accelerator culminates in a public Demo Day where each company presents their solution to Space Force leadership and the broader defense community. For us, this is an opportunity to demonstrate how agentic AI can transform collection management from a manual planning exercise into a real-time, adaptive capability.
Kestrel was founded by operators and intelligence officers from the CIA and Air Force, combined with over a decade of experience building AI systems at Stanford, Google X, and C3 AI. This program represents a critical step in bringing that combined expertise to the space domain.
We'll share more as the cohort progresses. If you're working on related problems in autonomous ISR, sensor orchestration, or collection management, we'd like to hear from you.