GMV to develop collision avoidance service for LEO constellations

The rapid growth of satellite constellations in low-Earth orbit (LEO), the risk of orbital collisions is rising at an unprecedented rate. The increasing amount of space debris — 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 pressure to adopt more advanced and reliable collision avoidance solutions.

In response to these growing challenges, the European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded GMV a research and development contract under the ARTES Core Competitiveness program, aimed at improving collision avoidance services for large telecommunications constellations. The initiative will focus on developing advanced capabilities for FOCUSOC NXTGEN, a platform designed to deliver faster and more accurate collision risk assessments by using diverse data sources and enhanced response strategies.

As part of the project, a conjunction assessment center will be established in the United Kingdom to expand support for satellite operators both domestically and internationally. The new system architecture aims to handle higher volumes of data and provide scalable performance to match the needs of next-generation constellations, potentially exceeding 1,000 satellites per constellation.

FOCUSOC NXTGEN incorporates several features, including a dedicated database for trend analysis, a maneuver testing environment grounded in flight dynamics, API integration for efficient operations, and a redundant infrastructure to ensure continuous service availability. The system seeks to filter out false positives from daily orbital data, identify genuine threats more accurately, and deliver timely recommendations to operators for effective maneuver planning.

The service is set for launch in summer 2026 in coordination with industry partners. ESA officials note that enhancing orbital collision avoidance technologies will be crucial to maintaining safe and sustainable operations as satellite numbers continue to rise.

ESA’s ARTES Core Competitiveness program provides funding and expertise to strengthen the satellite communications sector across Europe and Canada. The program supports both technology development and efforts to bring innovative products and services to market.