Look Up Selects Skynopy to Power Automated Collision Avoidance for its ATLAS² Space Safety Programme

Look Up, the French space surveillance and safety company, has selected Skynopy, a NewSpace company specialising in satellite ground station services, to provide the ground segment interface for its ATLAS² project - Acceleration Towards LEO Automated Space Safety. The partnership marks a significant step towards the world's first fully automated, end-to-end collision avoidance service for satellites in Low Earth Orbit. Under this contract, Skynopy will design, develop, and demonstrate the integration of its virtualised ground station network with Look Up's ATLAS² automated space safety platform, enabling real-time command-and-control of satellites in response to collision threats detected by Look Up's proprietary radar network.

Addressing the urgent challenge of orbital safety

With over 15,000 active satellites in orbit today and hundreds of thousands of debris fragments circling the Earth at high speed, the risk of catastrophic collisions is growing at an unprecedented rate. Today, most space surveillance capabilities in Low Earth Orbit, where 90% of space traffic occurs, are provided by the United States. Look Up is developing a sovereign European alternative.

Look Up's ATLAS² programme, co-funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Challenge, brings together the company's two core proprietary technologies to deliver the first comprehensive, fully integrated space safety service. SORASYS, Look Up's global network of seven high-precision radars deployed across EU sovereign territories, can detect debris as small as a few centimetres. Combined with SYNAPSE, Look Up's multi-source digital data-fusion and analytics platform, ATLAS² enables precise conjunction assessments, manoeuvre recommendations, and real-time threat detection at a scale and sovereignty level previously unavailable in Europe.

To transform detection into action, ATLAS² requires seamless, automated integration with a ground station provider capable of commanding satellites in near-real time. Skynopy has therefore been selected as one of our strategic partners.

A two-phase programme to demonstrate end-to-end reactivity

The contract between Look Up and Skynopy is structured in two sequential phases designed to progressively de-risk the integration and validate the full chain, from collision detection to satellite manoeuvre.

In Phase 1, Skynopy will deliver the architecture and CONOPS (Concept of Operations) defining how its ground station network interfaces with ATLAS², as well as a high-fidelity RF signal simulator. The simulator will emulate in-orbit contacts between satellites and ground stations, model on-board radio behaviour, and provide a test environment representative of real-life collision avoidance scenarios. This phase is planned to be completed in mid-2026.

Phase 2, subject to a gate review following Phase 1, will validate the integrated system through real-life in-orbit testing with an operational satellite, culminating in a full end-to-end demonstration of an automated collision avoidance manoeuvre: from Look Up's SORASYS radar network, detecting a collision threat to Skynopy transmitting the telecommand activating the satellite's propulsion system.

Bringing together space surveillance and ground segment expertise

This partnership combines Look Up's unique expertise in space domain awareness with Skynopy's next-generation, fully software-defined ground station infrastructure. Skynopy's network, now spanning 17 operational sites deployed in just 18 months, brings the speed, flexibility, and automation required by an operational space safety service.

Antonin Hirsch, CTO and co-founder of Skynopy, explains, “This collaboration with Look Up is a first of its kind: for the first time, a collision avoidance detection system will be directly and automatically connected to a ground station network capable of commanding a real satellite. Our goal is to demonstrate that end-to-end reactivity, from threat detection to manoeuvre execution, is not only possible but deployable at scale. This is a critical building block for the future of sustainable space operations.”

Michel Friedling, CEO and co-founder of Look Up, adds, “With ATLAS², we aim to connect detection directly to action in orbit. Skynopy stood out for its speed of execution, technical depth, and ability to interface with complex systems, making its ground segment a key enabler in transforming our detection capabilities into an operational collision avoidance service. Together, we are building the infrastructure to make space safer for every operator.”

A milestone for European space safety sovereignty

The ATLAS² programme reflects a broader European ambition to develop sovereign, end-to-end space safety capabilities. Look Up was founded in 2022 by General (Ret.) Michel Friedling, France's first Space Commander, and Juan-Carlos Dolado Perez, former Head of Space Surveillance at CNES, two of Europe's foremost experts in space security. The company has since raised over €64 million, including a €50 million Series A in 2025 backed bypartners and investors including ETF Partners, Kfund, EIC Fund, MIG Capital, Karista, Expansion Ventures, CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales), EU SST, Bpifrance, etc.

Skynopy's participation in this programme further strengthens the European NewSpace ecosystem and demonstrates the growing role of software-defined, agile ground segment solutions in supporting critical national and international space infrastructure.