Strengthening France’s strategic autonomy in space surveillance
Strengthening France’s strategic autonomy in space surveillance
Contract
The French Ministry of the Defense selects Aldoria to provide sovereign data on space objects through the RIVESALT contract
[Paris – Le Bourget, June 19, 2025] On the occasion of the Paris Air Show, Aldoria announces the signing of the RIVESALT contract (Reconnaissance and Identification for Space Environment Vigilance at all ALTitudes), awarded by the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) on behalf of the French Space Command (CDE). This contract marks a decisive milestone in strengthening France’s strategic autonomy in space surveillance.
Amid a geopolitical context marked by increasing risks in orbit and the growing militarization of space, France’s defense space strategy reaffirms the need to ensure sovereign space situational awareness—a critical prerequisite for informed decision-making and operational conduct.
To address these challenges, RIVESALT aims to enhance the capability to observe and identify space objects across all orbital regimes (LEO, MEO, GEO), by delivering a space surveillance service based on Aldoria’s network of observation stations. The French Space Command (CDE) will benefit from improved orbital situational awareness through the integration of data collected by Aldoria’s optical sensor network. This service will complement existing legacy sensor systems.
RIVESALT is the first contract resulting from the DGA’s innovative PRISME framework, designed to reference and qualify commercial space surveillance services.
Aldoria, a European company operating a proprietary global network of optical sensors dedicated to orbital surveillance, will leverage its unique infrastructure composed of STOS (Single Telescope Observation Station) and MTOS (Multi-Telescope Observation Station) systems deployed across five continents.
• STOS stations, fully automated and remotely operated, are designed to accurately track fast-moving objects in low, medium, and geostationary orbits.
• MTOS stations, equipped with four synchronously rotating telescopes, enable continuous monitoring of low Earth orbit without requiring prior trajectory knowledge.
This technological combination allows Aldoria to deliver reliable, up-to-date, and sovereign location data, fully aligned with the operational requirements of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces.
“RIVESALT demonstrates the emergence of a French industrial sector capable of delivering concrete solutions to our Armed Forces’ space surveillance needs. It also sends a strong signal in favor of European autonomy in space situational awareness,” says Romain Lucken, CEO and co-founder of Aldoria.
Designed to complement existing national capabilities, the RIVESALT contract acts as a key driver for structuring a European Space Situational Awareness (SSA) ecosystem based on technological excellence and operational autonomy.
This success builds on momentum initiated during early collaborations with the French Defence Innovation Agency (AID), under a RAPID program that enabled the development of an initial demonstrator. This experimental phase played a critical role in maturing Aldoria’s solutions, ultimately leading to their integration into the capabilities framework of the Ministry of the Armed Forces.
New Station
Opening
MoU
Contract
