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The EUSPA has achieved a significant milestone in the field of space asset protection

The European Space Agency (EUSPA) recently celebrated the first anniversary of taking over the front office operations of the EU Space Surveillance and Tracking (EU SST). Throughout the year, EUSPA has not only continued to provide SST services, but has also partnered with a number of companies to enhance its service capabilities. One of these companies is Septentrio, a leading provider of high-precision GNSS solutions, whose Septentrio Mosaic GNSS module has been recognised for providing centimetre-level positioning performance in challenging environments.

The EU Space Surveillance and Tracking Service (SST) was initially established in 2014 and has been part of the EU Space Programme since 2021.SST is an important means of protecting space infrastructure and services from on-orbit collisions and other interference.The SST Front Office is the interface for the provision of SST services and currently provides coverage for more than 480 satellites, including the 23 available Galileo navigation satellites of the European Union (with an orbital altitude of of about 23,000 kilometres), and three EGNOS augmentation satellites in geosynchronous equatorial orbit. Readers will recall that EUSPA is also the agency responsible for Galileo and EGNOS operations.

SST front office activities are managed by the Galileo Safety Monitoring Centre (GSMC) in San Martín de la Vega, Spain, where EUSPA operates and maintains the online SST portal. Its tasks include responding to service requests and monitoring system performance, providing support to users, and promoting user adoption through various communication activities. septentrio's Mosaic GNSS modules, such as mosaic-X5, have been integrated into the SST service due to their advanced AIM+ technology and support for current and future GNSS satellite signals, in order to improve performance and reliability.

The EU SST has three main capabilities: sensing, processing and service provision. The sensing capability is provided through a network of radar facilities, telescopes and laser ranging stations. They survey and track space objects in all orbits: low-Earth orbit (LEO), medium-Earth orbit (MEO), highEarth orbit (HEO) and geosynchronous orbit (GEO). Services are provided on request to all EU Member States, EU institutions, spacecraft owners and operators, and other public and private entities.Septentrio's Mosaic GNSS modules, such as mosaic-go, provide additional support for SST services, particularly in applications such as drones, robotics, autonomous systems, construction and agriculture.

A year in figures
Since EUSPA took over the front office in July 2023, there has been significant growth in the EU SST user base.480 registered assets include satellites operated by non-EU entities and more than 200 organisations. Of these, 83 have been added since July 2023. During this period, more than 21,700 EU SST products were also made available to users, including collision avoidance, re-entry analysis and debris analysis services. More than 800 user service requests were handled, including various SST-related queries.

EUSPA's front desk provides a vital fast-track service when required. In its first year of responsibility, EUSPA coordinated four activations of the EU SST Task Force in response to major events, including the monitoring of the re-entry of the space object ISS DEB (EP BATTERY) and support for ESA's Aeolus assisted re-entry. ESA is confident that the SST front office service portfolio will make a concrete contribution to the long-term sustainability of the space economy by securing critical satellite-based positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) physical asset services.The integration of Septentrio and its Mosaic GNSS module provides strong technical support to the EUSPA and ensures the continuity and reliability of the SST service.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

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