The European Union is making significant strides towards establishing itself as a leader in In-Space Operations and Services (ISOS). This capability is crucial for building a more sustainable, resilient and adaptive next generation space infrastructure and will introduce a new era in the orbital/in-space economy.

The rapid expansion of space activities is driving the development of new services in space: ISOS integrates ISAM (In-Space Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing) with In-Space Transportation, covering applications such as satellite servicing (e.g. inspection, repair, life extension, upgrade, refuelling), debris removal, logistic services in space (e.g. transport of cargo, warehousing), assembly/disassembly of satellites/large structures, and manufacturing (e.g. recycling/reuse). These services are of high interest for commercial and governmental applications.

ISOS represents a disruptive shift in the space sector. It is set to revolutionise the design, manufacturing, testing and operation of space systems. It will also enable a range of new applications and markets, contributing to enhanced resilience and sustainability of space infrastructures.

Since 2024, the EU has been aligning its objectives with its Member States and national space agencies, as well as the European Space Agency, to implement a holistic approach to foster value-adding services in space. This strategy spans from technology development to business creation and regulatory actions.

At the core of this strategy is a pioneering pilot mission, designed to demonstrate both technological and servicing capabilities. This mission is a precursor to a potential adaptive service infrastructure that could offer a wide range of on-demand services to space assets.

The pilot mission ISOS4I (EU In-Space Operations & Services 4 Infrastructure) is based on an adaptive, interoperable and scalable concept comprising four mission components (see the video below):

  • Servicing Component, providing robotic/autonomous services to client spacecraft, including relocation services and debris removal; 
  • HOST Component, providing host and supply (including fuel) capacities for servicer spacecraft, such as hosting, distributing and manipulating composable and exchangeable functional satellite modules (“satAPPs”) and IOD/IOV experiments; 
  • Logistic Component, offering last mile delivery services and transporting cargo and supply to the HOST; and 
  • satAPPs Component, building an ecosystem of functional modules for satellite upgrades, payload exchange and IOD/IOV experiments.

This mission is expected to act as a catalyst for boosting business generation and innovative applications in space. The concept is designed to simplify the integration of technology, applications, and services developed by public or private entities.

Mission demonstrations are planned for 2030, building on previous research and innovation (R&I) efforts. The mission will showcase European expertise with a pioneering operational mission concept featuring robotic and digital solutions, offering numerous opportunities for cooperation and business creation.

YouTube video

Paving the Way for the ISOS4I Mission

Game changing innovations and enabling technologies are central to ISOS and will be a focus of future actions. The shift towards adaptive space systems relies on automation, robotics, AI and modular and reconfigurable spacecraft concepts.

Mandated by the European Commission, the space research team at the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) is supporting breakthrough R&I projects driving this shift.

Funded by Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe (see the text box below), approximately €100 million have been allocated to over 20 R&I projects in ISOS-related fields. The majority of the new developments outlined below build on the extensive achievements of the EU-funded Strategic Research Cluster on Space Robotics Technologies that fostered the maturation of key robotic building blocks.

Horizon Europe – boosting Europe’s space ecosystem through EU Space Research

To stay ahead in the fast developing and changing space domain which is marked by growing competition and major technology advances, the EU space sector requires continued and coordinated investments into cutting-edge technologies, applications and skills. Horizon Europe, the EU’s funding programme for research and innovation, is a major lever to boost space innovation across the EU, building on the investments in space research of the previous programmes (Horizon 2020/FP7).

The European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) is funding and managing space R&I projects in various domains, including In-Space Operations and Services, Critical Space Technologies, Access to Space, Propulsion, Satellite Communication and Earth Observation Technologies, Quantum Key Distribution, and Space Surveillance. It builds on the expertise of international experts for selecting the most promising proposals and for monitoring the implementation of funded projects. The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) implements the European Innovation Council (EIC), Europe’s flagship innovation programme to identify, develop and scale up breakthrough technologies and game changing innovations.

Various new funding opportunities, including for the domain of ISOS, are already available. More are expected to be published during 2025 through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.  

Key Areas of Development in Horizon Europe’s ISOS R&I

  • Maturation of servicing technologies and concepts toward in-orbit demonstration and pre-operational services: EROSS SC is a flagship initiative coordinated by Thales Alenia Space in France, uniting 19 European partners from 9 countries. The project is enabling the maturation of a wide variety of technologies needed for robotic on-orbit servicing, integrating them into a single mission concept to meet short-term customer needs and future business opportunities, from rendezvous to capturing and servicing operations for collaborative assets. The EIC-funded project ASTROLIFT (led by D-Orbit) also matures autonomous spacecraft technology for spacecraft repair, life extension and orbital relocation, with a specific focus on a 7 degrees of freedom robotic arm. The Endurance project (led by Infinite Orbits), also part of the EIC space portfolio, is developing a demonstrator spacecraft for a life extension service satellite to perform rendezvous and docking operations for end-of-life of a geostationary telecommunications satellite.
  • Modularity and standardisation: To create a new range of upgrade possibilities and bring the necessary affordability to the ISOS market, modularity and standardisation are essential. The EU is thus fostering the development of functional satellite modules which are replaceable in orbit and can deliver new functionalities to a host satellite. Various aspects of this challenge are being tackled by the complementary projects ORU-BOAS (led by Sener Aeroespacial) and SCHUMANN (led by Space Applications Services), both presenting a plug-and-play concept. Leveraging existing service interfaces, SPACE USB (coordinated by Thales Alenia Space in France) is adding to these efforts by defining a USB-like Universal Service Interface (USI) and interoperability requirements for on-orbit servicing and assembly applications.
  • Application-oriented building blocks: In addition to technologic maturity, commercial sustainability is another essential driver to accelerate Europe’s ISOS ecosystem. Several projects are exploiting enabling technologies to develop application-oriented concepts with promising business potential. One example is STARFAB, which proposes a novel concept for an automated orbital warehouse, laying the groundwork for a sustainable commercial hub for ISOS. The project is developing a ground demonstrator and exploitation roadmap, while advancing key robotics and automation technologies for handling goods in space. The Airbus-led consortium of EU-RISE also builds on the maturation of space robotics to enhance Europe’s ISAM capabilities. Based on an extensive analysis of market needs and critical technological capabilities, the project will mature selected robotic building blocks and integrate them into an end-to-end laboratory demonstrator to perform the assembly of a modular reflector and the handling of an orbital replacement unit (ORU) with a dedicated refuelling interface.
  • Emerging space transportation solutions: Important developments in space transportation technologies are also supporting the maturation of Europe’s ISOS ecosystem. One project pushing the boundaries of in-space transportation is GEORyder, which aims to facilitate cost effective and direct European access to geostationary orbit (GEO). Coordinated by Infinite Orbits, the project strives to develop a reusable orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) to perform multiple transfers of smallsats from geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) to GEO. Another ambitious project in this domain is CRYSALIS, which is advancing innovative technologies for long-term storage of cryogenic propellant in space – a key enabling technology for in-orbit refuelling and long-duration missions. The project, coordinated by Absolut System, targets a small-scale in-orbit demonstration flown on board of the reusable Nyx capsule (by The Exploration Company).

The ambitious ISOS R&I portfolio presented above is focusing on critical advancements in areas such as rendezvous and close proximity operations, robotic manipulation, on-orbit servicing and assembly, cryogenic fuel storage and refuelling, and is paving the way for the preparation of the ISOS4I mission.