European Space Agency member states met in Bremen last November.

European Space Agency member states committed a record-breaking €22.3 billion budget over three years.

Nemo’s functions will include deterrence by preventing aggressive eavesdropping or attack actions against satellites.

The Mando del Espacio is preparing a preliminary feasibility study for Nemo to be completed this year and plans a research and development phase targeted for 2026, subject to resource and R&D approval by the Secretaría de Estado de Defensa.

The Nemo program responds to the presence of space platforms capable of generating electromagnetic disturbances that can degrade or disable critical communications, navigation, and Earth observation satellite systems.

Spain’s Ministry of Defence is developing a future space-police satellite named Nemo.

Possessing Space Domain Awareness facilitates attribution of hostile attempts or actions in the space domain, although attribution is difficult in many space scenarios.

Spain is engaging with other countries that are working on similar types of satellites to pursue collective security concepts.

Preliminary studies indicate Nemo spacecraft would be small in size and low in mass.

Lessons learned from the geostationary Nemo demonstrator will be used on Earth to feed back improvements to the first operational geostationary satellites.

Nemo spacecraft will have maneuvering capability and propulsion designed to enable rapid movements rather than remaining fixed.

Geostationary orbit was selected for the Nemo demonstrator because it is easier to control and less saturated, facilitating movement control.

Francisco Braco, Chief of the Air Staff (JEMA), first mentioned Spain’s development of the Nemo satellite in December.

Nemo is intended to position itself near Spanish satellites in low orbit below 6,000 kilometers to prevent potential enemy actions.

Spain plans to evaluate whether a single Nemo can defend its two principal satellites or whether two Nemos are required due to their separation.

The second phase of Nemo development envisions operations in low Earth orbit to protect Spanish assets located there.

Spain requires Space Domain Awareness (SDA) to achieve continuous understanding, perception, and interpretation of all aspects of the space domain and their operational impacts across domains.

The Nemo project’s objective is to defend Spanish military and civilian satellites from interference and possible hostile activities.

The Spanish Space Command (Mando del Espacio, Mespa) project for Nemo is currently at a conceptual phase.

The Nemo program and other Mando del Espacio projects are part of Spain’s contribution to the future European Space Shield initiative to coordinate EU countries’ surveillance, alert, and protection capabilities in outer space.

Nemo will provide constant and precise monitoring of the areas where satellites essential to Spain operate.

Nemo development is planned in two phases, beginning with a demonstrator placed in geostationary orbit.

ESA reduced its contract timeline by half from tending a contract to signing it.

The proposed EU Space Act is expected to further increase administrative and procurement efficiencies across Europe’s space sector.

Josef Aschbacher called for a profound transformation of Europe’s space industry to achieve faster industrialization and mass production of satellites for market-leading constellations.

Europe’s total national budgets for space are substantially smaller than the United States’ and China’s space budgets.

Josef Aschbacher proposed that Europe target roughly one-third of US space funding levels, which he characterized as about double Europe’s current funding levels.

Many European businesses invested in satellite production capacity in 2025, with those increased production capacities scheduled to come online in 2026.

Europe’s Resilience from Space (ERS) framework organizes cooperation so that nations maintain their own sovereign constellations while pooling resources in a shared infrastructure.

Josef Aschbacher is the Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA).

ESA closed out 2025 with record funding commitments from its member states.

Stargaze uses data collected from star trackers onboard Starlink satellites.

SpaceX is developing a space traffic management platform called Stargaze.

SpaceX ran a closed beta of Stargaze with more than a dozen satellite operators sharing ephemeris data and screening for conjunctions.

SpaceX hopes that providing ephemeris sharing and conjunction screening free of charge will motivate operators to take similar steps toward ephemeris sharing and safe flight.

Stargaze is designed to provide conjunction screening results within minutes.

Stargaze plans to offer conjunction data to other satellite operators free of charge.

SpaceX plans a wider rollout in which operators that submit their satellite trajectory predictions to Stargaze will receive conjunction data messages from Stargaze data and ephemeris from other participating operators.

The GAO made six recommendations to keep the SDA and its contractors on track for PWSA.

The GAO found that the SDA overestimated the maturity of the technology it required contractors to deliver for PWSA.

The Department of Defense will continue to use its existing framework for requiring cost estimates from contractors.

Lockheed Martin is a contractor on PWSA and is an experienced satellite manufacturer with assets on orbit.

PWSA stands for Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

The GAO did not revise its recommendation regarding requiring cost information from contractors.

The SDA concurred with five of the six GAO recommendations and did not concur with the fifth recommendation requiring cost information from contractors.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report this week reviewing the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) planning for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA).

Northrop Grumman is a contractor on PWSA and is an experienced satellite manufacturer with assets on orbit.

York Space Systems is a contractor on PWSA and is an experienced satellite manufacturer with assets on orbit.

L3Harris is a contractor on PWSA and is an experienced satellite manufacturer with assets on orbit.

The contractors are adding specialized equipment to their satellites, and those added items are less mature when used in new applications or configurations.