CNES selects Aldoria for EU SST Attitude Analysis

CNES awards the EU SST Attitude Analysis experimentation to Aldoria and a major French industrial company

New Contract

Paris, October 1, 2025 – The Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) has officially awarded the EU SST (EU Space Surveillance and Tracking) Attitude Analysis experimentation contract to a consortium co-led by Aldoria and a major French industrial company. This R&D initiative, scheduled from September 2025 to June 2026, will develop and validate innovative algorithms to characterize the attitude state of active and inactive space objects by fusing optical, radar and passive RF data, enhanced with machine learning techniques.

Pioneering advancements in attitude estimation for uncooperative objects

Within the EU SST framework, CNES aims to make full use of current and future sensor capabilities to improve the accuracy and responsiveness of attitude estimation for uncooperative space objects. The R&D contract will focus on:

Data-fusion innovation: combining optical imagery, radar returns and passive RF signatures with advanced machine-learning models to deliver more robust and reliable attitude solutions.

Enhanced observation strategies: developing new operational concepts that exploit fused multi-sensor inputs to better detect, track and characterize tumbling or non-cooperative satellites and debris.

Rapid transition to service: delivering an operational attitude-estimation service six months after the project’s completion, in close coordination with CNES and the wider EU SST community.

A consortium with complementary expertise

Aldoria and the unnamed industrial partner, as co-leads of the consortium, bring complementary strengths:

Aldoria contributes proven expertise in multi-sensor fusion and machine learning, with prior operational experience in attitude analysis based on single-technology datasets.

A major French industrial company, recognised for its capabilities in passive RF surveillance and systems integration, provides complementary processing and operational know-how.

The consortium will also rely on European laboratories and partners:

ONERA (Office National d’Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales): expertise in adaptive optics, essential to improve optical data quality under challenging observation conditions.

AIRA (Astronomical Institute of the Romanian Academy): providing extensive optical datasets to ensure the volume and diversity required for training and validating machine-learning models.

Quasar Science Resources: software development and integration to industrialize the algorithms within CNES’s operational environment.

Expected benefits and roadmap

By fusing heterogeneous sensor streams and leveraging machine learning, the project aims to:

– Enable new observation strategies that dynamically allocate sensor resources based on real-time assessments of tumbling or rotation rates.

– Improve service responsiveness and accuracy, reducing latency between object detection and the delivery of attitude estimates to end users.

– Provide a credible, rapidly deployable solution, as both consortium co-leads have operational track records in attitude analysis (albeit previously on single-sensor datasets).

The consortium emphasizes the importance of access to radar data to enrich the fusion algorithms. CNES may, subject to agreed arrangements, facilitate access to the radar datasets required for the experimentation. The project will also include operational scenarios designed to remain robust regardless of the availability of certain data streams.

“We are honoured that CNES and EU SST place their trust in Aldoria’s multi-sensor fusion capabilities. By combining our expertise with that of our industrial partner and leading European institutes, we will push the boundaries of attitude estimation for uncooperative objects,” said Romain Lucken, CEO of Aldoria.

About Aldoria
Aldoria collects, processes and exploits space situational-awareness data to protect strategic assets in orbit. By actively monitoring space debris and satellites, Aldoria helps its institutional, military and commercial customers avoid threats and adjust orbital trajectories.