Spanish Air and Space Force and GMV Agree to Install Satellite Tracking Antenna

The Spanish Air and Space Force, on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, and GMV have signed an agreement to install a Focusear system antenna at Morón Air Base in Seville, dedicated to satellite tracking. 

Through this agreement, the Space Operations and Surveillance Center (COVE) of the Space Command (MESPA) within the Spanish Air and Space Force will also gain access to data from GMV’s Focusear system. These data will reinforce COVE’s current monitoring and control capabilities, whose Space Situational Awareness and Control System (CCSE) was recently delivered by GMV, based on its Ecosstm software.

The ceremony was presided over by the Chief of Staff of the Spanish Air and Space Force (JEMA), Air General Francisco Braco Carbó, and served as the framework for signing the agreement between the Ministry of Defense and GMV on space surveillance matters. The agreement provides for the installation of a passive radiofrequency receiving antenna at Morón Air Base, Seville, a milestone that strengthens national capabilities in tracking satellites in geostationary orbit and consolidates public-private collaboration in this strategic domain. From the Ministry of Defense, the agreement signing was also attended by Major General Isaac Manuel Crespo Zaragoza, Commander of Space Command (MESPA); Brigadier General Enrique Cuenca-Romero Jiménez, Chief of the JEMA Cabinet; and Colonel Ignacio Sánchez González, Deputy Commander of the Spanish Air and Space Force Headquarters Group.

Representing GMV were the company’s CEO, Jesús B. Serrano; GMV’s Director General for Defense and Security, Manuel Pérez Cortés; and GMV’s Director of Space Surveillance and Traffic Management, Alberto Águeda. 

Following the signing of the agreement, the Chief of Staff of the Spanish Air and Space Force underscored Spain’s strategic role in the realm of defense and space sovereignty. He also highlighted that the space domain has acquired critical relevance for military operations and the services it provides to society. “The signing of this agreement between the Spanish Air and Space Force and GMV represents another milestone in consolidating national space surveillance and space domain awareness capabilities,” he stated. “With this new antenna,” he added, “the Space Operations and Surveillance Center will have a new source of critical data on space objects that will contribute to improving our space situational awareness."

GMV CEO Jesús B. Serrano highlighted the company’s firm commitment to strengthening national sovereign capabilities in space and defense, and emphasized that “with the collaboration agreement we are signing today, GMV’s Focusear system will have a new antenna at Morón Air Base, and COVE of the Space Command will have access to advanced and reliable passive radiofrequency satellite tracking data provided by the system, thereby complementing COVE's current data sources and increasing its space situational awareness and protection of national assets in space, with the aim of fulfilling its assigned mission.”

The infrastructure to be deployed at Morón Air Base is a 2.7-meter diameter parabolic antenna, designed to receive signals emitted by satellites without generating emissions or electromagnetic interference, thereby ensuring completely safe operation. 

The Focusear system, developed entirely by GMV, is an innovative passive sensor solution that enables automated and continuous tracking of all satellites broadcasting in Europe from geostationary orbit (approximately 36,000 kilometers from Earth) in Ku-band, the same band used for satellite television and communications. GMV provides data from this system to both civil space surveillance systems (such as EU SST) and satellite operators themselves, strengthening monitoring and control of the orbital environment.

With more than four decades of experience in the space sector, GMV is a world leader in Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) activities, including satellite tracking through the Focusear system, essential for ensuring the safety and sustainability of the orbital environment.