As the number of satellites placed in orbit keeps increasing with an ever-growing trend, Space Situational Awareness (SSA) is becoming a key element to guarantee the sustainability and safety of operations. During the World Space Business Week (WSBW), we interviewed Dr. Luisa Buinhas, Chief Program Officer & Co-Founder of Vyoma.
Vyoma employs a hybrid approach using a combination of ground-based and space-based assets to SSA activities. Founded in 2020 and based in Munich, the company offers satellite operators object-tracking capabilities, orbital information on space objects, collision warnings, and optimal avoidance maneuvers.
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Looking at the problem from two directions
When dealing with SSA, continuity of service and accuracy of measurements are two critical aspects. To tackle this challenge, Vyoma plans to supplement the measurements coming from ground-based telescopes within its network with the ones coming from their future space-based constellation, thus overcoming these issues.
Luisa explained: “First of all, by observing from space directly, we are not susceptible to weather. We can observe under any condition, 24/7. […] The other advantage is that from space we take advantage of relative motion and relative geometries to make measurements very often.” Providing more observations in time, with fewer blind spots, is a key element to enhance the performance of SSA systems, as it allows to maintain very accurate measurements on a continuous basis of a much larger number of objects.
Additionally, the cost-effectiveness of space-based sensors over their lifetime is cheaper compared to the ground sensors even if having a high cost at the beginning – for building and launching space-based sensors. However, over time the cost amortizes and they become more cost-efficient for the user. Observing from space provides a degree of scalability with which ground-based sensors cannot compete with.
Lastly, space-based sensors can cover the polar regions which is an existing gap with ground-based sensors. Luisa stated: “Currently we do not have any ground observatories that capture the polar orbits. These are the most congested ones, and from space, we can directly observe them, which means that we are de facto filling a knowledge gap that exists.”
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The power of optical measurements
A series of technologies are currently available to track and catalog active satellites and space debris for SSA purposes, such as radars, lasers, and optical telescopes. Vyoma’s decision to rely largely on space-based optical technology for its pilot mission lies under two main reasons.
The first one is again cost-effectiveness: systems like radars or lasers are expensive to maintain as parts wear out fast. Secondly, their performance depends on the input power, such that sufficient detection capabilities at long enough ranges would demand unrealistically space platforms to meet a sufficient level of detection performance. “The detection performance of the radar relates to the distance of the object, as one over distance to the power of four. This means, for example, that ground-based radars are very good at tracking objects at low altitudes. However, you need prohibitively high amounts of power to detect debris from 600-700 km from the ground.”
In future generations, Vyoma plans to carry other sensors onboard the spacecraft to enhance surveillance activities of its constellation.
First satellite ready to fly
Last May, the company successfully qualified the engineering model of its first satellite while in early 2025 they are planning to complete testing on the flight model. The mission, flying onboard Falcon 9, will bring to LEO the first generation of the optical payload.
Currently, the launch of the first-generation telescope is expected for 2025. This marks the first milestone in integrating space-based data into SSA databases and refining the quality of ground measurements.
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Full capabilities and next steps
About the capabilities of their system, Luisa stated: “For the pilot mission, we are detecting down to 10 centimeters. […] We are already working on a second-generation telescope, which is a bit more compact and has better performance. With the new sensor, this goes down to the 5-centimeter range. Going forward, third generation, etc., we want to go down to 2-3 centimeters.” As a result of this, the second-generation telescope will be able to see smaller and darker objects.
A contract has been awarded to EnduroSat for the first-generation satellite and Aerospacelab for the second-generation satellite. The company plans to launch the second-generation satellite in 2026, and then two additional batches of satellites will be added from 2027. As the number of satellites increases, the quality of the information will improve consequently. With a 12-satellite constellation, certain objects can be observed up to 70 times per day.
Speaking about launches, as winners of DLR’s Microlauncher Competition and Small Satellite Competition, Vyoma secured two opportunities with German microlaunchers in 2025-2026. The company is paying close attention to the progress of the microlauncher market to align its upcoming constellation with these launchers.
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Dual market: civilian and military applications
Last June, the European Defense Funds awarded the company two contracts to enhance European SSA capabilities. As part of the EMISSARY project, Vyoma will develop and test the scheduling module of the European Space Command and Control (SC2) center. The project aims to boost intelligence sovereignty and improve threat response capabilities.
As part of STAALION, the company has been tasked to develop the LEO constellation. Moreover, it will also work on the implementation of the detection and identification software.
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