Week 45, 2025 - The ESA straightjacket
ESA's geo-return policy has "devastating" effects on Danish space industry, according to former GomSpace CEO. Also, Sentinel-1D brings relief to Danish users.
Overview
Top stories:
Launch of Sentinel-1D Brings Relief to Danish Users
Anne From GEUS Measures the Speed of Ice With Sentinel
Rovsing A/S Has Supported Sentinel Launches Since 2012
ESAs Geo-Return Policy and Danish Space Governance Prevent Danish Space Industry Growth, Says Former GomSpace CEO
GEO-Return Policy Prevents Danish Companies From Participation in ESA-Projects
Bureaucrats Shouldn’t Decide what Technologies to Develop
Public Funding Scares Off Private Investment
Spaceflight Governed by the Wrong Ministry
GomSpace Bolsters U.S. Presence with 1.5 Million USD Order as Q3 Revenue Surges 94%
Danish Aerospace Company Highlights Progress on E4D Exercise Equipment in Trading Update
Rovsing Advances ESA’s FORUM Mission with Thermal EGSE Delivery
Danish Satellite Innovator ClearSKY Vision Joins CASSINI Accelerator Batch 6
Spaceline Builds New HQ at HCA Airport, Odense
DISCO-2 Completes Vibration and Thermal Test Ahead of February Launch
News briefs
Danish Space Sector Invited to Review Framework for National Missions
Danish-British Rocket Collaboration on Ministerial Meeting Agenda
Cobham Satcom Introduces NEO Series for Remote Connectivity
Cobham Satcom Certifies TDC Marine Electronics as UK Service Center
Agreena Launches AI Assistant for Farmers in Denmark and UK
Chamilla Terp Solves Astrophysics Mystery in Bachelor Thesis
DISCO Student-Startup DISCOntaminate Becomes Part of The Kitchen
Space Denmark Launches New Membership Structure for 2026
New jobs, next week, and more (for paid subscribers)
Launch of Sentinel-1D Brings Relief to Danish Users
On November 4th, ESA launched the Sentinel-1D satellite from Kourou, French Guiana. The satellite carries a C-band synthetic aperture radar (C-SAR) and will thus provide all-weather, day-and-night Earth observation for land, ocean, and emergency monitoring.
Lately, ESAs constellation of Sentinel-satellites have degraded in performance. Sentinel-1B has stopped working and Sentinel-1A’s capacities are degrading. Therefore, the recent launch comes as a relief to the Danish company ClearSKY Vision in Aalborg. The company was founded in 2019 and uses AI and earth observation data to provide cloud-free satellite imagery.
“We’re stoked about the successful launch of Sentinel-1D, as SAR imagery is a cornerstone of our cloud-free, year-round monitoring service delivered to Danish farmers through our partnership with SEGES Innovation,” says Morten Fjord, CEO of ClearSKY Vision. He continues:
“After the failure of Sentinel-1B, we had to operate with a single SAR satellite, which degraded our service. An accelerated timeline for the launch of Sentinel-1C was announced, but due to Europe’s lack of launch capacity, that never happened. This resulted in more than three years without the dual-satellite setup our company was built around. As Sentinel-1A is now significantly beyond its planned mission duration, we do not expect to have three operational SAR satellites at the same time. However, we have not yet heard the exact decommissioning date for Sentinel-1A. This means the new launch helps ensure continued access to frequent, high-resolution SAR imagery, but does not provide additional data for our data-fusion capabilities.”
Anne From GEUS Measures the Speed of Ice With Sentinel
The launch of Sentinel-1D is also a relief for senior researcher and glaciologist at GEUS (Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland), Anne Solgaard. She studies the dynamics and evolution of ice sheets and she leverages data from the Sentinel-satellites to create a map of how fast the Greenland ice sheet moves every 12 days.
“During the period from when Sentinel-1B stopped functioning until Sentinel-1C came online, we saw a significant reduction in the quality of our product, with both increased noise and poorer spatial coverage. Our product depends on the ice surface not changing too much between two images - snowfall, surface melting, or dynamic changes. So it makes a big difference whether 12 days pass, as is the case when there is only one Sentinel-satellite, or 6 days, when there are two Sentinel-satellites. That is why it is also very reassuring that Sentinel-1D has been launched before Sentinel-1A stops working. It is absolutely fantastic that one can sit here on Øster Vold in Copenhagen and monitor how all the glaciers in Greenland are moving at such high temporal resolution. An utterly impossible task, by the way, without satellites due to the enormous size of the Greenland Ice Sheet,” explains Anne Solgaard.
Rovsing A/S Has Supported Sentinel Launches Since 2012
On the day of Sentinel-1D’s launch, Rovsing A/S, a company specializing in test and simulation systems for the Space & Defense industry, also played a role. The last umbilical that disconnected from the Ariane 6 rocket was Rovsing’s Launch Power Supply (LPS) Special Check-Out Equipment (SCOE). This equipment has supported the launch campaigns of the previous Sentinel A, B, C and now D satellites since 2012.
ESAs Geo-Return Policy and Danish Space Governance Prevent Danish Space Industry Growth, Says Former GomSpace CEO
The geo-return policy within ESA and the governance of space affairs by Denmark both prevent the Danish space industry from reaching its potential, according to Niels Buus, former CEO of GomSpace and a senior advisor to various space and defense companies. In an op-ed this week in Denmark’s leading business newspaper Børsen, he expresses his disappointment that the recent national space conference in Aalborg was not used to debate these challenges, especially since Denmark currently holds the EU presidency.
I reached out to Niels Buus for further comments.
“I’m disappointed that since we were talking about spaceflight, we didn’t do a better job advocating our case in Europe. Because the way we’re doing it now is more harmful to us than it is to, for example, France, with the geo-return policy. That’s what I’m disappointed about, and I think many others were too,” Niels Buus says.
Last week, the CEO of Gatehouse Satcom, Kenny Schmidt Christiansen, also published an opinion piece in Børsen, pointing out how Danish space companies are held back within the framework of ESA. At the conference itself, the current CEO of GomSpace, Carsten Drachmann, also voiced the need to cut through bureaucracy.
GEO-Return Policy Prevents Danish Companies From Participation in ESA-Projects
Niels Buus explains that during his time working at GomSpace and Gatehouse Satcom, he experienced several instances, where his companies could not participate in ESA projects, because their participation had to be funded through the Danish contribution to ESA. These contributions have been relatively small for many years, and though they are growing, they will still not allow Danish space companies to grow explosively, according to Niels Buus.
“It’s devastating. It doesn’t provide the best for Europe. Imagine if the Americans did the same. Those who live in Ohio could never contribute more than the size of Ohio relative to the rest of the USA. That’s the limitation we’re imposing on ourselves in Europe.”
Instead of selecting vendors for ESA projects based on the contributions of the member states, ESA ought to increasingly solicit projects on a market basis and pick the best bidder. That is the way to create a real space market, says Niels Buus.
Bureaucrats Shouldn’t Decide what Technologies to Develop
For that to work, however, ESA also needs to focus less on funding development of specific space technologies and instead let industry come up with their own solutions.
“If you want to go to the Moon, then buy what you need to go to the Moon. If you want to look for resources on comets, then buy some equipment for that. But stop telling us that we have to develop a specific kind of propulsion or a specific kind of technology. We can figure that out ourselves,” says Niels Buus. He adds:
“It shouldn’t be bureaucrats that decide what we should develop. We can figure that out ourselves if there’s a market.”
Public Funding Scares Off Private Investment
Another challenge for Danish space companies is the interplay between public funding and private investors. Niels Buus likens the situation to a Gordian Knot; the government funds the space industry due to a concern over lack of private investment. The public funding, however, make private investors reluctant to fund the space industry.
Niels Buus gives another example of how damaging public intervention can be in the financial world, and a reason why private investors dislike public involvement: Once, when GomSpace was raising money on the Swedish Stock exchange, the lead investor at that time, Borean Innovation, was forced to sell GomSpace shares at the same time. They had to do so, because the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Research, had decided to shut down the innovation cluster that GomSpace originally had grown out of. This dramatically affected the share price in a negative direction.
Spaceflight Governed by the Wrong Ministry
Another challenge that Niels Buus sees for the Danish space industry is that spaceflight activities are handled by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (Uddannelses - og Forskningsministeriet). This frames space as primarily a domain of science, research and education - not an industry. Instead, the Danish space sector would be better governed by the Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs (Erhvervsministeriet).
“It would mean that we would follow up on whether it benefits Denmark commercially. In other words, whether it’s worth investing in an industry rather than technology research. I believe that would make a huge difference.”
The tendency to view space solely as a domain of science education and research extends not only to the political level but also to the Danish business organizations.
“What we’re doing now is that the universities, the business organizations, and the authorities all think spaceflight is a wonderful thing because it gives rise to a lot of dreams. It provides an opportunity to promote STEM education. But that means our industry is being held hostage to a dream, instead of growing an actual industry,” says Niels Buus.
Niels Buus also recently published an opinion piece in SpaceWatchGlobal with the title: Delusion or Leadership?
GomSpace Bolsters U.S. Presence with 1.5 Million USD Order as Q3 Revenue Surges 94%
GomSpace North America, a subsidiary of the Danish nanosatellite firm GomSpace Group AB, secured a 1.5 million USD order for spacecraft components from a global service provider, signaling continued demand for its technology in multi-satellite missions.
The order, announced on November 5, 2025, covers advanced subsystems from GomSpace’s power and command systems line, designed for commercial and government applications. Delivery is set for the first half of 2026 to support an upcoming satellite mission. Slava Frayter, CEO of GomSpace North America, stated that the deal underscores partner confidence in the company’s flight-proven hardware and its commitment to customer missions through reliable technology and collaboration.
This transaction arrives alongside GomSpace’s third-quarter financial results, released November 6, 2025, which showed revenue of 111.7 million SEK, up 94% from the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA reached 15 million SEK, reversing a loss, while operating profit stood at 3.3 million SEK. Year-to-date revenue grew 71% to 296.4 million SEK, with order intake up 15% to 373.7 million SEK.
CEO Carsten Drachmann attributed the performance to the company’s strategic transformation, noting a strengthened balance sheet from earlier capital expansion backed by investor Peter Hargreaves. GomSpace upgraded its full-year revenue guidance to 420-450 million SEK from 320-380 million SEK, expecting positive EBITDA margins. Free cash flow for the quarter was negative at 38 million SEK due to delayed payments, but the company anticipates recovery in Q4 to meet its positive full-year outlook.
Carsten Drachmann presented the Q3 2025 trading statement on November 6 during a live-stream. The recording of the live-stream can be accessed here.
Danish Aerospace Company Highlights Progress on E4D Exercise Equipment in Trading Update
Danish Aerospace Company (DAC) released a trading update for Q3 2025 this week, highlighting progress on its E4D multifunction exercise device. The device allows astronauts to do resistive training exercises, cycling, rowing, and rope pulling in microgravity in order to counter muscle and bone deterioration during long-duration space missions.
DAC completed four models under its European Space Agency (ESA) contract, with the latest delivered and installed at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston last month. DAC staff spent two weeks on-site testing and demonstrating the equipment to support astronaut training. The proto-flight E4D model awaits launch to the ISS aboard the Cygnus NG-24 mission in early 2026.
NASA astronaut Edward Michael Fincke, who is currently on orbit onboard the ISS, commented on a LinkedIn post by DAC, describing the installation of the E4D equipment at NASA:
E4D helping to pave the way for all-important crew health and exercise as we boldly explore- starting with our amazing International Space Station! Bliv ved med det gode arbejde, og held og lykke!! [Continue the good work and good luck]
- NASA astronaut Edward Michael Fincke
DAC’s trading update also states that the company is ready to ship its first E4D flight model for a commercial customer and in addition to that, another commercial customer has worked with DAC on the integration and use of E4D in their space vehicle. Under an ESA extension, DAC added jumping capabilities to an E4D prototype for use on the Lunar Gateway and eventually future Mars missions.
The trading update also states that the outlook for 2025 is maintained and that DAC had a total year-to-date revenue of 16.3 million DKK as well as an EBITDA of -0.5 million DKK. The English version of the trading update can be found here.
Rovsing Advances ESA’s FORUM Mission with Thermal EGSE Delivery
Rovsing A/S, a Danish provider of space ground support equipment, shipped a Thermal Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) rack to OHB last week for the European Space Agency’s FORUM mission. The equipment supports ground testing by simulating the spacecraft’s thermal environment to verify performance in orbit.
FORUM, ESA’s ninth Earth Explorer program, measures Earth’s outgoing far-infrared radiation for the first time to quantify the planet’s energy budget and refine climate models. Led by ESA, the mission addresses gaps in current observations of global heat balance, with data expected to inform projections of ice melt, cloud feedback, and atmospheric dynamics.
This delivery builds on Rovsing’s recent contributions to Earth observation and navigation projects:
October 13: The company provided a Simulation Front End rack for the GRACE-C mission to Airbus Defence and Space in Germany, enabling measurements of Earth’s gravity field for climate and water resource monitoring.
October 7: Rovsing completed the fifth recurrent Solar Array Wing Front End Electronic system for ESA’s European Service Module on NASA’s Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, shipped to Airbus in Germany; the system emulates solar array functions through deployment and mission cycles using RO-5100 SAS Modules and RO-1010 protection units.
September 23: Rovsing prepared three Special Checkout Equipment units and four racks—including Actuator & MIL 1553, Service Module Simulator, and Solar Array Simulator sets—for the Galileo Second Generation constellation, destined for Thales Alenia Space in Italy.
Danish Satellite Innovator ClearSKY Vision Joins CASSINI Accelerator Batch 6
Aalborg-based ClearSKY Vision has entered Batch 6 of the European Commission’s CASSINI Accelerator, a program that supports space ventures in scaling services powered by EU satellite data. The Danish company announced its participation on November 4, 2025, to accelerate growth in cloud-free satellite monitoring across Europe.
“Built in Denmark, built for the world. Our home market is small, but satellites are designed for global reach. With CASSINI, we’re scaling beyond the Nordics, integrating with downstream platforms, and putting cloud-free imagery in the hands of users who need it most,“ Morten Fjord, CEO of ClearSKY Vision tells Danish Space News.
ClearSKY Vision develops AI-driven cloud removal and data fusion technology for Sentinel-2 imagery, combining optical and synthetic aperture radar data to deliver near real-time, analysis-ready images. These tools enable monitoring of vegetation indices, deforestation, and land cover changes for sectors including agriculture, forestry, insurance, and infrastructure. With six years of experience in data fusion research and development, the firm receives support from the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
ClearSKY Vision writes that participation in the accelerator will help the company:
Deepen integrations with key downstream platforms and partners.
Expand into new markets and verticals across Europe.
Add more satellite integrations for faster revisit times and a more flexible platform.
Refine services and analytics for higher reliability and ease of use.
The company adds that this will enable “shorter revisit gaps, more consistent monitoring, and faster decisions,” for its customers.
The accelerator entry builds on ClearSKY Vision’s 2023 victory in the CASSINI Challenges Product Track, part of the EU’s Space Entrepreneurship Initiative running through 2027. That recognition highlighted the company’s use of Copernicus and NASA data to address sustainability and resource management challenges. Now, over the coming months, ClearSKY Vision will collaborate with mentors and partners to integrate with downstream platforms, incorporate additional satellite sources for shorter revisit intervals, and incorporate customer feedback to enhance service reliability.
Spaceline Builds New HQ at HCA Airport, Odense
Odense-based Spaceline has started construction on a 1,000-square-meter headquarters in HCA Airport’s business park, according to a press release from Odense Robotics, a national cluster organization for robotics, automation, and drones. The new headquarters will help support the company’s expected growth from a company of 15 employees currently to about 100 by the end of 2026.
Spaceline was founded by students and researchers at the University of Southern Denmark and develops monitoring systems using stratospheric balloons combined with satellite data. These systems track remote land areas, critical infrastructure, and endangered ecosystems with continuous coverage in near real time, at lower costs than satellite technology alone.
The construction of a new headquarters follows years as a tenant at HCA Airport’s business park, where the ecosystem includes players in space, drone, and defense technology. Nicolai Iversen, CEO of Spaceline, says in the press release:
The location in HCA Airport’s business park is a natural and strategic step for us. The ecosystem around HCA Airport and UAS Denmark brings together some of the most ambitious players in Denmark’s space, drone, and defence technology sectors. Our new headquarters will not only serve as an administrative hub but also as a unique centre for the development, production, and operation of advanced stratospheric and space-based systems – right here from Odense. For us, this is not just about building square metres, but about investing in an environment where collaboration, innovation, and knowledge sharing drive future growth. We are proud to have grown within this ecosystem and to contribute to shaping its future.
- Nicolai Iversen, CEO of Spaceline
DISCO-2 Completes Vibration and Thermal Vacuum Test Ahead of February Launch
This week, the student-built 3U+ CubeSat DISCO-2 completed vibration and thermal vacuum testing at Space Inventor’s facilities in Aalborg and is thus ready for its scheduled launch on February 14, 2026. DISCO-2 carries a multi-camera payload to monitor glacier-fjord interactions in northeastern Greenland. The mission will also leverage machine learning onboard the satellite to filter and process images in orbit. The tests are meant to simulate the vibrational stresses of launch as well as the thermal and vacuum environment of space.
Students from Aarhus University, IT University of Copenhagen and University of Southern Denmark participate in the DISCO-2 project. Ahead of launch, the students will hand over the satellite to the launch services company ExoLaunch in the beginning of December.
News briefs
Danish Space Sector Invited to Review Framework for National Missions
In March 2025, The Ministry of Higher Education and Science commissioned six Danish universities to organize a national dialogue about the future of Danish space activities. One of the goals was to identify new national space missions. A draft is now being prepared based on input from a spring 2025 survey and a September 2025 workshop at Sandbjerg Gods. Aarhus Space Centre (SpaCe) therefore now invites representatives from across the entire Danish space sector to attend review seminars to gather final feedback before submission in early 2026. The seminars take place on 26 November 2025 from 12:30 to 15:00 at AIAS, Aarhus University, and on 28 November 2025 from 12:30 to 15:00 at DTU Space in Copenhagen. Participants can attend in person or online. Source.
Danish-British Rocket Collaboration on Ministerial Meeting Agenda
Denmark and the United Kingdom discussed launch vehicle development during a meeting between Danish Minister of Higher Education and Science Christina Egelund and British Junior Minister Baroness Liz Lloyd. The talks focused on a research program for launch vehicles capable of carrying people and cargo into space. The Danish government recently proposed its largest public investment in the space sector to date. The funding aims to increase Denmark’s role in the European Space Agency (ESA) and participation in the “European Launcher Challenge” and “Boost!” programs. These initiatives seek to create a robust and economically sustainable European rocket launch capability. Danish-British launch company Orbex could join the programs if Denmark and the United Kingdom provide national co-financing in partnership. Source.
Cobham Satcom Introduces NEO Series for Remote Connectivity
Cobham Satcom, a Danish satellite communications provider, has launched the NEO Series, a portfolio of terminals developed in partnership with Space42 to support the Thuraya-4 Next Generation Store-and-Forward (NGS) network. The terminals target mobile operations on land, at sea, and in field environments, where cellular or fixed networks do not reach. They provide broadband data rates of up to 1024 kbps, along with encryption for secure transmissions. Users control the devices via smartphone interfaces. Cobham Satcom positions the series for mission-critical uses, such as maritime navigation, desert traversal, and emergency response. Source.
Cobham Satcom Certifies TDC Marine Electronics as UK Service Center
Cobham Satcom has designated TDC Marine Electronics - TDC Aberdeen as the first Independent Certified Service Centre for its products in the United Kingdom. The certification enables UK customers to access local installation, maintenance, and repair services for Cobham Satcom communication equipment through a certified partner. TDC Aberdeen provides manufacturer-approved support. Source.
Agreena Launches AI Assistant for Farmers in Denmark and UK
Agreena announced the launch of Agatha, an AI-powered digital assistant that supports farmers with data-driven decisions on crop planning, pest identification, and regenerative practices. The Copenhagen-based company introduced Agatha as part of its AgreenaGro platform on October 30, 2025. The tool combines satellite imagery, farm location data, and AI to provide guidance. It operates under GDPR principles, with farmers retaining control of their data. The beta version rolls out in Denmark and the UK, with expansion planned for France, Germany, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine. Farmers can access Agatha through the free AgreenaGro app on the App Store or Google Play. Source.
Chamilla Terp Solves Astrophysics Mystery in Bachelor Thesis
Chamilla Terp, a 24-year-old student at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, resolved an unsolved mystery about a light signal from a distant galaxy during her bachelor project. The finding shows how light from the first galaxies travels through the universe. It aids researchers in mapping the universe’s appearance shortly after the Big Bang and the evolution of the first stars and galaxies. Sources [1] [2].
DISCO Student-Startup DISCOntaminate Becomes Part of The Kitchen
The young startup DISCOntaminate has become part of Aarhus’ largest startup hub, The Kitchen. DISCOntaminate was founded by students from Aarhus University working on the DISCO student satellite program and aims to monitor illegal pesticide use with the help of satellite data. As part of The Kitchen, DISCOntaminate will gain access to guidance, workshops, grants, business development, and an inspiring community of innovators. Source.
Space Denmark Launches New Membership Structure for 2026
Space Denmark will introduce a new membership structure on January 1, 2026, enabling members to engage, collaborate, and grow within the Danish space community. All current memberships expire at the end of 2025. Pre-registration for the new categories is open now. The categories include Explorer, which provides access to newsletters, events, and updates. Supporter offers visibility, participation in delegations, events, and exclusive content. Partner provides profiling, opportunities to showcase competencies, and access to targeted international opportunities. Source.
