GMV to Develop Next-Generation Collision Avoidance Service for LEO Constellations through ESA ARTES support

Con la rápida expansión de las constelaciones de satélites en órbita terrestre baja (LEO), el riesgo de colisiones orbitales aumenta a un ritmo sin precedentes. La proliferación de objetos en el espacio (desde satélites activos hasta satélites inoperativos y basura espacial) plantea serios desafíos a los operadores que se esfuerzan por mantener la seguridad y sostenibilidad de sus misiones. A medida que aumentan los volúmenes de datos diarios y se hacen más frecuentes los avisos de conjunción, la comunidad espacial se enfrenta a una presión cada vez mayor para adoptar soluciones más avanzadas y fiables para evitar colisiones. 

With the rapid expansion of satellite constellations in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), the risk of orbital collisions is rising at an unprecedented pace. The proliferation of objects in space—ranging from active satellites to defunct assets and debris—poses serious challenges for operators striving to maintain the safety and sustainability of their missions. As daily data volumes grow and conjunction warnings become more frequent, the space community faces mounting pressure to adopt more advanced and reliable collision avoidance solutions. 

In this context, GMV has been awarded a new R&D contract by the European Space Agency (ESA) under its Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) Core Competitiveness programme within ESA’s Connectivity and Secure Communications. The initiative aims to develop an advanced collision avoidance service tailored to the needs of large-scale telecommunications constellations.

Building upon the success of GMV’s proven Focusoc platform, the new service—FOCUSOC NXTGEN—will deliver faster and more accurate collision risk assessments by integrating a wide array of data sources and enhancing response strategies. This next‑generation solution is designed to empower satellite operators with smarter, more agile tools to safeguard their assets in an increasingly congested orbital environment.

A key innovation of the project is the creation of a new conjunction assessment centre in the United Kingdom. This centre will serve operators both in the UK and globally, offering expanded capabilities beyond current services. Thanks to a complete system redesign, the platform will support significantly higher data processing volumes, with a scalable and dynamic infrastructure that adapts to user demands. While the current service can process constellations of tens of satellites, the goal is to accommodate the new key players: large-sized constellations that feature hundreds of them. FOCUSOC-NXTGEN is aiming to assess conjunctions for more than 1,000 satellites. Nevertheless, the standout feature of the project is its horizontal scalability, which allows the system to expand as user demands grow. This significant leap not only enhances computational capacity, but also requires improved user interfaces to provide real-time global insights, specifically optimised for large-constellation operations.

FOCUSOC NXTGEN tackles the growing challenge of managing vast volumes of orbital data—now reaching over 7GB daily—by filtering out false positives and pinpointing genuine threats with greater precision. The system will deliver timely and highly relevant manoeuvre recommendations, helping operators avoid unnecessary disruptions to their missions.

Among its standout features, the service will include a dedicated database of conjunctions to support long-term trend analysis, a manoeuvre testing environment leveraging GMV’s renowned Flight Dynamics Systems expertise, and seamless API integration for operational efficiency. Redundant system architecture will ensure uninterrupted 24/7 availability.

The new service is scheduled for official launch in summer 2026, with ongoing developments in close collaboration with leading industry stakeholders. With FOCUSOC NXTGEN, GMV reinforces its position at the forefront of safe and sustainable space operations.“By contributing to the development of FOCUSOC NXTGEN, ESA is helping tackle a critical issue: the risk of orbital collisions,” said Laurent Jaffart, ESA Director of Connectivity and Secure Communications. “The success and long-term sustainability of space activities rely heavily on orbital safety; ensuring satellites and space assets remain free from collision risks. This service will be instrumental in enabling other ESA-supported innovations to thrive, delivering fast and reliable communications without interruption.”

About ESA's ARTES Core Competitiveness programme 

The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe's gateway to space, coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its Member States to conduct space programmes and activities. The Core Competitiveness programme line of ESA's Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) provides funding and multi-disciplinary expertise to enhance competitiveness in satellite communications. It supports specific activities carried out by SMEs, large industrial consortia and research organisations aimed at developing innovative products and services that strengthen Europe and Canada's position as global leaders in the satcom market. Through its two components, ARTES Advanced Technology and ARTES Competitiveness and Growth, this programme enables organisations to transform promising concepts into market-ready solutions, covering the entire development cycle. Learn more at https://connectivity.esa.int/core-competitiveness