European Industry Duo Unveil Space-Based Interceptor Platform

Two European space startups are teaming up to build a new orbital platform capable of deploying, coordinating and hosting autonomous interceptor spacecraft, the companies announced April 8.

 

Bulgarian satellite builder EnduroSat and UK defense technology startup Shield Space have launched a strategic partnership to offer highly maneuverable spacecraft capable of rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) as part of a package deal for allied and NATO defense customers, with plans to provide full integrated spacecraft, deployment, mission software and operations, according to a press release.

 

The two companies plan to combine Shield Space’s autonomous RPO guidance and effector payloads and EnduroSat’s standardized satellite platforms and services, with the goal of enabling customers to move from contract signature to on-orbit operations in nine months.

 

The first mission under the new partnership, called Broadsword, could launch in the second half of 2027 to test out the new operational model, using an 8U autonomous chaser spacecraft conducting a full RPO sequence against a 3U CubeSat co-deployed target, the release stated. The Broadsword mission is expected to run for up to one year, but the standard mission lifetime will be up to five years, the companies told Aviation Week in an email.

 

Following Broadsword, the companies want to introduce a “mothership-based space control system” that would carry, coordinate and deploy autonomous space-based interceptors (SBI) under an effort known as Project NEXUS. The plan is to demonstrate the mothership capability in 2028 with EnduroSat's smaller FRAME-15 platform, then move to a full-scale demonstration by 2029 using a FRAME-24 platform hosting a dozen CubeSats, the companies said. The FRAME-15 platform is capable of supporting up to 70 kg (150 lb.) of payload mass, while the FRAME-24 can carry up to 300 kg.

 

The team is focusing on other missions related to space situational awareness and rapid maneuvering, all using EnduroSat’s platforms and Shield Space’s mission systems, per the release.

 

The strategic partnership between two European NATO allies comes as the U.S. looks to field novel SBI technology as part of the Golden Dome for America missile defense architecture, and as European defense and space budgets balloon. The companies see a strong call for additional space defense capabilities across Europe, for example through the UK Strategic Defense Review, which listed space control as a primary objective for the next five years.

 

Just as inexpensive drones became a critical technology in warfare following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, so too will autonomous spacecraft introduce a paradigm shift on orbit, Shield Space co-founder and CEO Graeme Ritchie said in the release.

 

“Cheap autonomous drones have changed the tempo of warfare in Ukraine. Space will experience the same acceleration, where machines must sense, decide and maneuver faster than human command chains allow,” he said.