The Dish

Space traffic management provider Neuraspace is looking to simplify safe space operations for satellite operators and keep them in the know on orbital risks. 

“You could say ignorance is bliss,” but satellite operators need awareness as space becomes increasingly crowded, Chiara Manfletti, chief executive at Coimbra, Portugal-based Neuraspace, tells Connectivity Business News in this episode of “The Dish” podcast. 

Neuraspace this month announced a partnership with international science organization EISCAT Scientific Association, enabling Neuraspace to use EISCAT’s advanced radar, and ionospheric and atmospheric data to improve its solutions for decision-making in space. 

The company aims to “maximize the outcome of operations [and] minimize the operational effort that operators have to go through,” to protect their satellites, Manfletti tells CBN. 

The number of objects in space in 2024 has escalated to 35,000 compared with approximately 30,000 in 2022, and so has the risk of collisions in orbit, according to a July report by ESA. 

On the flip side, companies are more willing to learn the risks of space and take proactive measures to protect their assets, Manfletti says. 

“More and more companies are actually also investing in making sure that we can deal with these risks, so satellites aren’t just sitting ducks hoping nothing will happen to them,” Manfletti says.  

Companies are seeing the value of maneuverability in space, so they’re more willing to invest in propulsion systems and space traffic management solutions, she says. 

Manfletti tells CBN that, while the exact cost of an in-orbit collision is variable and difficult to calculate, the potential economic implications warrant a proactive approach to space sustainability. 

“At the very worst, if we do nothing about it, the economic implications are catastrophic,” she says, adding that reportedly 20% of the European economy alone depends on space. 

Space sustainability has historically been viewed as an environmental issue and still is, but the economic dimension is increasingly significant, Manfletti says.  

“The future is big and that's why I see [in-orbit services] playing a key role as a building block toward this future circular economy in space,” she says.