Thales Alenia Space and Exotrail have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop an innovative surveillance, command and control (SCC) solution designed to meet the needs of constellations of small satellites, based on NewSpace concepts and technologies. This partnership combines the proven satellite systems expertise of Thales Alenia Space with Exotrail’s disruptive space mobility solutions.

Complementary technologies

This collaboration intends to integrate Exotrail’s spacetower flight dynamics system software (FDS) with Thales Alenia Space’s OPEN SCC satellite control solution. Together, they will cover the full spectrum of engineers’ and operators’ flight dynamics and satellite operations requirements.

Exotrail’s spacetower software is a cloud-native flight dynamics system tailored to meet the comprehensive needs of flight dynamics engineers, including orbit determination and maneuver planning. Built on a scalable microservices architecture, spacetower can accommodate satellite constellations of any size. It integrates seamlessly with ground segments via OpenAPI and is deployable both in the cloud and on-site. 

Thales Alenia Space’s OPEN SCC solution spans a broad range of operations, from testing and preparation to real-time surveillance and automated satellite control. OPEN SCC is flexible and capable of managing a single satellite or large constellation, whatever the mission (communication, Earth observation or navigation) and orbit (low Earth, medium Earth or geostationary).

This solution can be deployed on-premises or as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) within a cloud infrastructure. It will offer customized and scalable features to provide a high degree of agility for ground segments, as well as close customer support.

Vision for the future

As a key player in communication constellations such as Globalstar 1 & 2, O3b and Iridium NEXT, and the Kineis Internet of Things (IoT) constellation, Thales Alenia Space will join forces with Exotrail in the new-generation constellations market to further Europe’s independence in space.

“We’re delighted to be working with Exotrail to offer an end-to-end solution supporting the transformation of satellite operations,” said Dima Tanzilli, Head of Operational Strategy at Thales Alenia Space. “The synergies from our respective know-how and expertise will serve our customers’ future needs effectively, through a constructive approach in which Europe’s space sovereignty is a prime concern.”

“We’re very proud to be working with Thales Alenia Space and to combine spacetower with OPEN SCC, a gold standard in space operations,” added Sébastien Duménil, Exotrail CCO. “This partnership between new and established players offers a unique solution for operators, particularly of constellations, helping them to deploy and ramp up their satellite control and operations centers.”

Click here to learn about Thales Alenia Space's Satellite Control Solutions.

Click here to learn about Exotrail's spacetower Flight Dynamics System Software.