{"id":11059,"date":"2024-12-13T10:50:49","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T09:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=11059"},"modified":"2025-12-05T10:22:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T09:22:28","slug":"german-company-awarded-by-esa-for-groundbreaking-laser-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=11059","title":{"rendered":"German Company Awarded by ESA for Groundbreaking Laser Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>DiGOS GmbH<\/strong>, a German company specialising in optical technologies, has <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/esoc.esa.int\/german-laser-ranging-company-receives-esa-innovation-award\">received the European Space Agency&#8217;s 21 Rising Stars award<\/a><\/strong> for its significant contributions to satellite and space debris laser ranging. The award recognises the company\u2019s development of advanced laser ranging systems, now widely used to improve satellite tracking and reduce the risk of collisions in increasingly crowded orbits.<\/p>\n<p>This recognition forms part of <strong>ESA&#8217;s Competitiveness Element<\/strong> under the <strong>Space Safety Programme<\/strong>, an initiative aimed at positioning European companies as leaders in addressing emerging challenges in space safety. Through targeted initiatives like the <strong>Competitiveness Element<\/strong>, ESA supports the growth and development of European space industries. These initiatives not only enable cutting-edge advancements but also strengthen Europe\u2019s position as a leader in space safety and innovation.<\/p>\n<h2>The Partnership<\/h2>\n<p>The partnership between ESA and DiGOS began in 2018 with the development of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/esoc.esa.int\/content\/esa%E2%80%99s-iza%C3%B1a-1-laser-ranging-station-satellite-debris-tracking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Iza\u00f1a-1 laser ranging station in Tenerife<\/a><\/strong>. This station employs state-of-the-art optical technology to provide precise satellite tracking, enabling operators to avoid collisions. As the number of satellites continues to grow, the ability to monitor orbital traffic with this level of accuracy has become vital.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cESA contracts have enabled us to expand our horizons\u201d, said <strong>Andr\u00e9 Kloth<\/strong>, General Manager of DiGOS. As a result of ESA\u2019s support, DiGOS now \u201cbuilds and operates over 6 stations around the world: 2 in Japan, 4 in the EU. More recently, in 2021, we led the construction of a dedicated GNSS satellite laser ranging system operated as part of the Galileo programme which will set new standards in performance, reliability and automation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"ESA\u2019s Laser Focus on Space Debris\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qodSi2PAHDg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Laser Focus on Space Safety<\/h2>\n<p>Laser ranging has shifted from a niche capability into an essential tool for satellite operators, addressing growing concerns over orbital congestion.<\/p>\n<p>The European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) plays a pivotal role in managing space safety. \u201cDue to an ever more congested space environment collision warning messages for satellites are issued at increasing frequency,\u201d explained <strong>Tim Flohrer<\/strong>, Head of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.esa.int\/Space_Safety\/Space_Debris\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ESA\u2019s Space Debris Office<\/a><\/strong> at ESA ESOC in Germany, \u201cCurrent radar solutions can monitor the position of a large number of satellites, and also track in case of risky situations, but determining the collision risk benefits substantially from increased accuracy of such data.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Laser ranging measures the position and velocity of satellites and space debris, which helps \u201cin making decisions whether to manoeuvre satellites to reduce the collision risk\u201d.<\/p>\n\n<p>Iza\u00f1a-1 has also made significant contributions to the field of optical communications. This technology offers the advantage of increased bandwidth compared to radio communications, while also ensuring low equipment mass, reduced power consumption and minimal interference.<\/p>\n<p>Flohrer commended the company on its achievements: \u201cDiGOS developed and deployed an industrial product in a short time, from start-up to multiple industrial sales. It has established itself as a reliable supplier of optical ground stations for satellite and space debris laser ranging and has also extended its activities into the field of optical communications\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Discover more about <strong>business opportunities<\/strong> with ESA.<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/call-for-opportunities\/\" target=\"\" class=\"btn btn btn-outline-secondary ms-0\">Discover our call for opportunities<\/a>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Trailer Space Safety Programme at ESA\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4HSskexga7I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DiGOS GmbH, a German company specialising in optical technologies, has received the European Space Agency&#8217;s 21 Rising Stars award for its significant contributions to satellite and space debris laser ranging. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":11060,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[249],"tags":[486,313,637,609,636],"directorate":[431],"sts-api_categories":[],"esa-fields":[258],"class_list":["post-11059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-european-space-operations-centre","tag-satellite","tag-satellite-laser-ranging","tag-space-debris","tag-tenerife","directorate-commercialisation-competitiveness-support","esa-fields-satellites"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>German Company Awarded by ESA for Groundbreaking Laser Technology - ESA Commercialisation Gateway<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=11059\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"German Company Awarded by ESA for Groundbreaking Laser Technology - ESA Commercialisation Gateway\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"DiGOS GmbH, a German company specialising in optical technologies, has received the European Space Agency&#8217;s 21 Rising Stars award for its significant contributions to satellite and space debris laser ranging. 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