SES Partners with NorthStar Earth & Space to Tackle Space Sustainability Challenges

March 31, 2022

A partnership to enhance Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and ensure a sustainable use of space has been formed between SES, the world’s leading satellite-based content connectivity solutions provider, and NorthStar Earth and Space (NorthStar), the first commercial service to monitor space from space, both companies announced today.

Together with NorthStar, the teams will be working to launch, develop and evolve NorthStar’s SSA products tailored to benefit SES’s satellite operations and fleet management. NorthStar will deliver unique SSA services to help satellite operators with safer management of their fleets, minimization of collision risks, and development of space sustainability solutions. Fuelled by data gathered in space, NorthStar’s next-generation service will provide a unique layer of information to improve operational performance for all satellite operators and contribute to the realization of a more sustainable space environment.

SES has recently announced its revised Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy and is a firm believer of how sustainable space meets sustainable Earth. Its new ESG strategy revolves around four key pillars – ensuring the secure and sustainable use of space; embarking bold climate action, increasing diversity and inclusion in the industry; and using its global content connectivity solutions to meet critical human needs.

"Space supports critical infrastructure for our economy. NorthStar’s collaboration with SES leads to more responsible and sustainable operations in space from all stakeholders. NorthStar’s high performance SSA services combined with SES’s leading role in the industry brings a necessary focus towards the increasingly unmanageable risks we are all witnessing in space”, said Stewart Bain, CEO & Founder of NorthStar Earth & Space. "This is a major step in NorthStar’s integration and growth within the fast-moving Luxembourg space ecosystem. Recent investment from the LFF and support from the Luxembourg Ministry of the Economy also contribute to accelerate NorthStar services in support of this important collaboration.”

“We are excited to partner with NorthStar and leverage their expertise in space-based sensors to monitor traffic in space and the accuracy of their intelligent platform to transmit information faster,” said Steve Collar, CEO of SES. “Space sustainability is of fundamental importance to SES and to the industry. The industry needs to come together quickly to protect space for future generations before it’s too late and our partnership with NorthStar is a strong step in that direction.”