ION-X’s Post

🚀 Europe’s Satellite Manufacturing Boom: Exciting times for the European space industry! Thales Alenia Space has just inaugurated a satellite manufacturing facility in Rome, capable of producing over 100 next-gen satellites annually. This marks a major milestone in Europe's push to scale up sovereign satellite production. And there are other players around Europe: 🇩🇪 Planet Labs is building a new facility near Berlin to double its Pelican satellite output. 🇧🇪 Aerospacelab secured €94M to complete its Megafactory, aiming for 500 satellites/year. 🇧🇬 Endurosat raised €43M for a new site in Sofia, targeting 60 satellites/month. 🇮🇹 SITAEL launched its Space Factory 4.0, supporting missions for ASI, ESA, and NASA. These developments reflect a strategic shift: Europe is investing heavily in high-skilled, high-volume satellite manufacturing to boost autonomy, create jobs, and lead in emerging technologies like optical communications. https://lnkd.in/dV9JgABg #SpaceTech #SatelliteManufacturing #EuropeInSpace #NewSpace #Innovation #ESA #ThalesAleniaSpace #Aerospacelab #PlanetLabs #Endurosat #SITAEL

🛰️🛜 ION-X THRUSTERS WILL EQUIP THE UNISHAPE MISSION🛜🛰️ ION-X is proud to announce a commercial collaboration with UNIVITY (formerly Constellation Technologies & Operations) for their uniShape mission! The HALO-MAX represents the latest evolution of our products line, featuring an extended ionic liquid tank and delivering higher total impulse and delta-V for longer and more agile missions. As part of uniShape, a key preparatory step for UNIVITY's Very Low Earth Orbit constellation uniSky, ION-X contributes to building Europe's alternative for global satellite-based 5G connectivity. This collaboration marks a new chapter for ION-X, reinforcing our role as a propulsion provider contributing to European innovation and technological sovereignty. 📢 Read the full press release below! #eic #EICAccelerator @Expansion | Technofounders | Région Ile de France | INNOVACOM | CNRS | CNRS Innovation | Centre National d'Études Spatiales | European Commission | European Space Agency - ESA | GIFAS - Groupement des Industries Françaises Aéronautiques et Spatiales | ASTech Paris Region | Bpifrance | EIC - European Innovation Council | La French Tech Paris-Saclay | SpaceFounders

🚀 Space Update 🚀 HPS takes SAILOR’s next step: OPTIMIST mission set to advance in-orbit space debris detection. We’re proud to announce that HPS is part of OPTIMIST — a brand-new in-orbit demonstration CubeSat mission kicked off in August 2025 under ESA’s Space Safety Programme (S2P) “COSMIC”. 🛰️ OPTIMIST Mission in short: - Duration: ~1 year in ~550 km orbit - Objective: Validate technologies for ESA’s full scale SAILOR mission and acqusition of first data. - Payload: A large deployable membrane (5–7 m²) equipped with acoustic sensors and a surface-scanning camera system. - P/L Goal: Detect and analyze impacts from submillimeter- to centimeter-sized debris to improve future debris prediction and protection systems. 💡 Why it matters: OPTIMIST will field-test critical technologies for the full-scale SAILOR mission, which is aiming to measure in-situ small space debris in order to understand its long-term evolution. Results will increase resilience of satellite constellations taking into account potential clouds of debris particles. ✅ First milestone reached: The project already successfully passed the Mission Baseline Review with ESA, marking a strong start to Phase B1, which includes breadboarding activities, mission design definition, and launcher trade-offs — with a focus on European launchers. 🤝 Consortium & Roles: - Prime: C3S Electronics Development LLC (Hungary). - HPS Germany: we develop the deployable membrane module, based on our proven ADEO-M deorbit sail. - HPS Romania: Manufactures the membrane and integrates the acoustic sensors. - University of Kent (UK): Leads scientific aspects and performs hypervelocity impact simulations. - Deimos (Romania): Supporting system analysis and mission design. 🌍 Together, SAILOR and OPTIMIST mark another decisive step toward a safer orbital environment — paving the way for better protection of space infrastructure. #SpaceSafety #ESA #HPS #SAILOR #OPTIMIST #SpaceDebris #Innovation #EuropeanSpace #Sustainability #COSMIC #Weltraumwetter #Weltraumschrott

Australia Japan partnership to accelerate laser links for satellites: Sydney, Australia (SPX) Sep 30, 2025 A new collaboration between the University of South Australia, Adelaide start-up RapidBeam, and Japan's Warpspace aims to speed development of next-generation space laser communications. The agreement targets faster, more secure, and more reliable data transfer than today's radio-based systems for missions spanning Earth observation to deep space. At the core is Warpspace's HOCSAI optical

We joined the Optical Nucleus Network Workshop, organised by European Space Agency - ESA in Darmstadt on 6 October! Takeshi Martinez, CTO of Amphinicy Luxembourg, presented our work on ONEST - Optical Ground Station Network Scheduling Testbed, a project supported by ESA under its ScyLight programme. The ONEST project offers 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐦 𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬. The technology is going to be built upon 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚, a monitoring and control solution developed by Amphinicy Technologies. As project prime, Amphinicy is working closely with SES Satellites (SES TechCom and Redu Space Services entities), as well as Officina Stellare S.p.A to bring this innovative optical ground station solution to life. 🔗 More on ONEST: https://lnkd.in/ddCUta3g #ONEST #OpticalGroundStations #ESA #GroundSegment #SatelliteInnovation #Amphinicy #SpaceCollaboration

Australia Japan partnership to accelerate laser links for satellites, Sydney, Australia (SPX) Sep 30, 2025 A new collaboration between the University of South Australia, Adelaide start-up RapidBeam, and Japan's Warpspace aims to speed development of next-generation space laser communications. The agreement targets faster, more secure, and more reliable data transfer than today's radio-based systems for missions spanning Earth observation to deep space. At the core is Warpspace's HOCSAI optical, : Sydney,

Our #space ecosystem is not just innovating — it’s developing technologies and partnerships that strengthen Lithuania’s economy, science, and security. 👏 🛰️ Recent milestones and partnerships from cluster members: Kongsberg NanoAvionics – secured a record €122.5M contract with SpinLaunch (USA) to deliver small satellites for a new broadband constellation, and was selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) to build and operate a CubeSat for the IOD/IOV programme, advancing innovative European technologies in orbit. Sensmetry – pioneers the System-as-Code revolution, bringing software engineering power and agility to complex space systems. Their #Syside tool suite supports #SysMLv2 for the AI era and is used by the European Space Agency - ESA to automate systems engineering work. Sensmetry, in partnership with OHB, implements an ESA contract, and last year their paper on #Syside won Best Paper at the MBSE Workshop 2024 – Europe’s leading space MBSE event. Integrated Optics – their MatchBox pulsed laser is on its way to Mars as part of the MiLi (Miniaturized LIDAR for MARS Atmospheric Research) project — a step toward sending four LiDAR instruments for future atmospheric exploration missions. VILNIUS TECH - Vilnius Gediminas Technical University – launched Lithuania’s first industrial doctorate in space technologies, funded by the Research Council of Lithuania (LMT). The research develops a cathode for an innovative bismuth Hall thruster, aligned with ESA and global space market priorities. Blackswan Space continues its partnership with Adelaide University and SmartSat CRC (Australia) on the E-SPARC project, set to launch in 2027–2028. Delta biosciences – with LinkGevity, launched a UK–Lithuania project funded by the UK Space Agency to advance Anti-Necrotic™ technology, boosting astronaut health and human resilience on Earth and in space. 🛰️ Why it matters: Lithuania is no longer just developing technology — it’s building a globally competitive space sector with dual-use innovations for: • Agriculture and environmental monitoring • Secure communications and defence Investing in space means investing in Lithuania’s future — in talent, technology, and global competitiveness. 🤝

🇮🇹 By the end of this year, Rome will host one of Europe’s largest and most advanced satellite manufacturing hubs, the €100M Space Smart Factory. A collaboration between Thales Alenia Space and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), the 21,000 m² site will build around 100 satellites a year. 🛰️ Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dnYyNNZk Teodoro Valente Adolfo Urso Herve DERREY #spacetech #innovation #eutech #italy #aerospace #satellite #technews #spaceindustry

#ARQUIMEA has been selected by Thales Alenia Space to participate in the QKD-GEO program, Spain's first geostationary satellite quantum key distribution system. 👉 Our company will contribute to this mission with its expertise in 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀, reinforcing the role of Spanish industry in the development of key technologies for 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. This new milestone consolidates ARQUIMEA as a leading technology partner in the 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 🛰️. 🔗 Find out more about this milestone in the press release: https://lnkd.in/db9Riyk4 #GEO #QKD #Space #ThalesAleniaSpace #QKDGEO #ThermalStructures

🚀 CS GROUP selected by CNES to operate the G6PO legacy observatory from 2025 to 2027! We’re thrilled to announce that CNES has chosen CS GROUP in SPACE to operate its G6PO (GNSS Signal in Space Performance Observatory) legacy system for the next three years. 🔍 G6PO is a cutting-edge laboratory that enables the acquisition, analysis, and archiving of GNSS Signal in Space (SiS) performance. 🌍 It plays a strategic role in GEMOP (Galileo/Egnos Monitoring Of Performance), a key initiative led by EUSPA - EU Agency for the Space Programme, with CNES as a major contributor. 🎯 As part of this mission, CS GROUP will: ✅ Monitor GNSS signals within the GEMOP framework ✅ Conduct targeted measurements on other GNSS constellations and LEO orbits ✅ Maintain and upgrade software tools and procedures This new milestone strengthens CS GROUP’s footprint in the GNSS domain and supports the evolution of European space capabilities! 🌌 HE Space Operations Sopra Steria #GNSS #SpaceTech #Galileo #EGNOS #EUSPA #CNES #CSGROUP #Innovation #SatelliteNavigation #SpacePerformance #GEMOP #SignalMonitoring #LEO #SpaceEngineering