The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded the European arm of NorthStar Earth & Space a contract “to enhance the safety of satellite operations.”
Specifically, NorthStar Earth & Space S.à r.l. will lead a consortium to “develop a new capability to improve the accuracy of satellite orbit predictions by addressing atmospheric drag uncertainty in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).”
The contract was awarded through ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt.
Other consortium partners include:
• Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M, Spain) – Provides expertise in uncertainty quantification and propagation for orbital models, with proven experience in orbit determination, re-entry prediction, and collision risk assessment in multiple ESA programs.
• Institutul de Științe Spațiale (ISS, Romania) – Contributes expertise in thermosphere–ionosphere physics, and numerical modelling. ISS operates forecasting services within ESA’s Space Weather Service Network and maintains advanced physics-based models for atmospheric drag estimation.
According to NorthStar “solar and geomagnetic activity heat the upper portion of Earth’s atmosphere. The heating changes the density of the upper atmosphere and the drag experienced by satellites in LEO (between 160km and 2000km altitude), which alters their orbits. Small errors in space weather forecasting may adversely impact collision risk assessments, re-entry predictions, and satellite operations during launch and early orbit phases.”
NorthStar and its partners “will develop advanced methods to improve estimates of variations in density of the thermosphere located at an altitude between 80 and 1000km where most LEO satellites operate. Heating from space weather can cause temperature changes anywhere from 500⁰C to 1500⁰C during strong storms. The air in the upper atmosphere is very thin so one would not “feel” the temperature changes to the same extent as on Earth but the resulting impact on the orbits of satellites in LEO is measurable. To deliver more accurate and reliable orbit navigation predictions the consortium will combine satellite orbital data with space weather information and atmospheric models.”
Ignacio Cires, Executive Director of Business Development NorthStar Earth & Space S.à r.l. said, “NorthStar is proud to lead this world class team of scientists and experts to enhance the precision of orbital forecasts, vital to the safety and sustainability of space operations. This ESA collaboration brings together some of Europe’s strongest expertise in atmospheric modeling and orbital dynamics and combines this with NorthStar’s leading commercial SSA products to ensure these advances translate directly into operational safety for satellite operators.”
Terms of the award was not disclosed.