U-Space selects Skynopy to operate its two in-orbit satellites

U-Space, the Toulouse-based next-generation small satellite manufacturer, has selected Skynopy as its ground station service provider for the operation of its two satellites in Low Earth Orbit, SOAP and PANDORE. This dual-satellite contract reflects growing operator confidence in the reliability and technical depth of Skynopy's service, and marks a significant step in the relationship between the two French companies, who are also collaborating under the ESA PUSH programme to implement dynamic modulation in X-band on U-Space's small satellite platforms.

SOAP and PANDORE: two complementary missions, one uncompromising standard

Launched in March 2025 aboard a SpaceX Transporter-13 rideshare mission, SOAP (Satellite Optique pour Analyse et Positionnement des débris) and PANDORE are the first two satellites entirely designed, assembled, and operated by U-Space from its Toulouse facilities. Both fly in Sun-Synchronous Orbit at an altitude of 590 km.

SOAP is dedicated to space surveillance aiming to demonstrate the added value of the space-based situational awareness (SBSS) and to improve the volume and accuracy of the data gathered while cataloguing the small debris. PANDORE, meanwhile, is an in-orbit demonstration (IOD) mission carrying Safran Space's Synchrocube payload, which validates LEO-based positioning and synchronisation services capable of complementing or backing up degraded or jammed GNSS signals.

Why U-Space chose Skynopy

Having operated its mission with alternative providers, U-Space possessed a precise understanding of its requirements for the solution. The following differentiators made Skynopy successful in winning the operations of U-Space satellites:     

• Proven service reliability. Skynopy's infrastructure stood out for the robustness of its operations, the consistency of scheduled contacts, and the absence of lock-loss or resynchronisation events during passes — a non-negotiable requirement for missions demanding continuous, high-quality telemetry.

• Live metrics of unmatched depth. Skynopy's platform gives U-Space's mission control teams access to rich, real-time indicators during every contact — received signal strength, SNR, demodulation quality, data delivery latency — enabling operators to diagnose and react instantly without waiting for post-pass analysis.

• A superior API. Skynopy's programming interfaces and graphical supervision dashboard were singled out for their technical depth and clarity, significantly reducing integration timelines with U-Space's Mission Control Software and enabling greater automation of day-to-day operations.

• Responsiveness as a competitive advantage. The speed with which Skynopy's team responds to technical requests, adapts configurations to mission-specific requirements, and provides on-call support was highlighted by U-Space's operations team as a decisive factor — particularly during the critical early in-orbit phase.

According to Antoine Ressouche, General Manager and co-founder of U-Space, "Skynopy became the obvious choice once we seriously compared what was available on the market. The depth of their interface, the quality of real-time metrics, and above all the ability to adapt the modulation rate during a pass fundamentally change how you operate a satellite in LEO. With X-band and VCM on the horizon, we are positioning our future satellites to deliver download performance our customers simply would not expect from a small satellite."

ESA PUSH collaboration: the next technological leap in X-band

Beyond the operational S-band service, U-Space and Skynopy are collaborating under the ESA PUSH (Providing Upstream Services for Higher-value missions) programme to develop and validate the implementation of dynamic modulation in X-band on U-Space's satellite platforms.

This joint project aims to demonstrate that a small satellite operator can achieve mission data throughput levels comparable to those of larger platforms by leveraging Skynopy's Software Defined Radio (SDR).

The programme is co-funded by ESA and Skynopy, meaning U-Space benefits from the service at no direct cost. The objective is to equip U-Space's future series satellites with high-cadence mission data download capabilities, directly aligned with its ambition to produce one satellite per week by 2027 and address global constellation customers requiring both high reliability and high data volume.

Antonin Hirsch, CEO and co-founder of Skynopy, explains, "Being trusted with two satellites simultaneously from an operator that has grown its own ground segment expertise in-house is a strong endorsement. U-Space is exactly the type of customer Skynopy was built for: ambitious, technically demanding operators who need a connectivity service that scales with them. Our collaboration on the ESA PUSH programme takes this further — proving that X-band VCM is accessible to nanosatellites is a major technological step forward for the entire small satellite industry."