Priming the development of Pulse (EGS-CC) for ESA

GMV has been selected by ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) to lead Pulse Phase 1, covering the evolution of ESOC’s next-generation Mission Control System based on EGS-CC (European Ground System-Common Core).

Pulse is the new name of ESOC’s Mission Control System infrastructure, built on EGS-CC and reusable Mission Control System components. Phase 1 will consolidate and evolve the system, improving its operational readiness, maintainability and quality while preparing it for use by current and future ESA missions.

As prime contractor, GMV will lead a consortium bringing together the full range of expertise developed through previous MCS-CC (Mission Control System-Common Core, a prior name for Pulse MCS) and EGS-CC activities. 

The technical work covers EGS-CC improvements and archive evolution required for ESA’s mission operations use-case; the consolidation of standard multi-mission capabilities, including the Activity Stack, On-board Software Management, PUS Service Model support; automated testing; and the development of a web-based user interface. The project will also support the migration of Swarm (ESA’s three-satellite constellation dedicated to studying Earth’s magnetic field) to an operational Pulse MCS system and begin preparations for a science-mission configuration, demonstrated with Euclid (ESA’s astronomy mission to explore the dark Universe), for an initial system validation campaign.

A strong focus will be placed on agile delivery, continuous integration, requirements traceability, test automation and software quality. The work may also explore AI-based tools to streamline selected software-engineering activities, particularly unit-test development. Reusable MCS components will also be prepared for release under an ESA community software licence, supporting collaboration and long-term maintainability across missions.

The project will run through 2026, with major intermediate software releases and an End-of-Phase Review in the final quarter. Its objectives include providing inputs to the teams working on the EGS-CC framework with the aim of preparing it for routine maintenance in future and enabling a smooth handover of Pulse activities into Phases 2 and 3 of the project.

This award reinforces GMV’s commitment to ESA and to delivering robust, reusable and mission-ready solutions for future European space operations.