Slingshot Aerospace clinched a $1.2 million contract with the U.S. Space Force to create a visualization tool intended to identify enemy missiles and improve data collection in space.

Working with Culver City-based Zoic Labs, the four-year-old company will build an infrared surveillance system that it hopes will eventually be used by Air Force operators to track and handle missile warnings and battlespace awareness reports.

Zoic Labs is the sister company of Zoic Studios, which created the visual effects for "Avengers: Age of Ultron." It will draw upon that inspiration to convert satellite sensor data to video.

Melanie Stricklan, co-founder and CEO of Slingshot Aerospace, said the missile warning mission is key to maintaining top defense and intelligence domains in the United States.

"Our innovative solution will help improve the operator experience and optimize mission efficiencies, while positioning Slingshot Aerospace to be a potential leader in next generation OPIR situational awareness," Stricklan said in a release announcing the deal.

Last week, the U.S. Space Force announced it would establish a tech and acquisition arm at Los Angeles Air Force Base's Space and Missile Systems Center in El Segundo. The move was widely hailed by Southern California's aerospace community as further evidence that the region had become an important hub.