An international consortium led by Alén Space has been selected by the European Space Agency to develop a prototype system designed to detect and monitor radio frequency interference (RFI) from space, the companies said.
The initiative, carried out under ESA’s FutureEO programme, seeks to create a CubeSat-format satellite prototype capable of identifying and geolocating sources of interference on the Earth’s surface across a wide frequency range from 1 to 40 GHz. The project is scheduled to run for 24 months, beginning on Dec. 1, 2025.
ESA said the objective is to address “one of the current challenges of the space sector: protecting the radio spectrum against interference that can compromise the operation of Earth observation satellites and other critical space systems.”
The prototype satellite will be used exclusively for ground validation to assess the performance of the payload and associated algorithms for interference detection and geolocation. The payload will be based on TREVO, Alén Space’s software-defined radio (SDR) technology.
Alén Space will coordinate the overall project and oversee the preliminary satellite platform design, manufacturing of the payload and laboratory prototype, and development of the onboard interference detection application. The company will also conduct testing to validate the payload’s functionality.
The consortium includes partners from Spain, Norway and Poland. WideNorth will design, manufacture and verify the radio frequency front-ends integrated into the payload prototype. GMV Poland will handle mission analysis and end-to-end system simulation, while GMV Spain will define ground segment algorithm requirements and conduct test campaigns. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid will design and develop interference geolocation algorithms for the ground segment.
According to the consortium, the contract reinforces its position in advanced spectrum monitoring technologies and supports broader efforts to protect orbital assets and enable future specialised satellite constellations.
The project forms part of ESA’s broader strategy to safeguard space-based infrastructure amid increasing demand for radio spectrum and growing satellite deployment worldwide.
