May 2026

Earlier this year, Look Up and CNES signed a landmark agreement: the first national data purchase contract for space surveillance radar data awarded to Look Up, as part of the CNES National Data Procurement program. This milestone followed the successful completion of SORASYS-1’s operational tests. As of May 20, 2026, the contract transitions from signature to active service, with the first data orders now live.

From contract to operations

The activation of the SORASYS data service for CNES marks a critical step in operationalizing the agreement. It confirms that SORASYS 1 is ready, reliable, and fully capable of meeting the stringent data quality standards required by France’s leading space agency.

Under this agreement, running through 2028, Look Up will provide CNES with two key categories of data. A comprehensive set of historical radar data enables CNES to reprocess past observations, validate orbital solutions, and build longitudinal reference datasets for long-term analysis. Alongside this, CNES will submit regular tasking requests, and Look Up will task SORASYS 1 directly to generate raw, high-fidelity radar measurements on specific objects of interest, helping CNES refine their orbital determinations capabilities with independent, sovereign data they can fully trust, improving accuracy and reducing false alarms, having more confidence on the collision risk computation.  

This agreement aligns with CNES’s operational needs under the French Space Operations Act (LOS), supporting key national priorities such as:

• Establishing and maintaining the national space object catalogue
• Monitoring compliance with LOS filing requirements
• Mastering in-orbit risks
• Enhancing global space situational awareness

Designed as a complementary data source within France’s broader SSA ecosystem, this contract avoids duplication while strengthening CNES’s operational capabilities.

Data quality as a strategic asset: Why SORASYS data stands out

What distinguishes SORASYS data is its unmatched precision, with high-fidelity object detection and metric positional accuracy, combined with full data sovereignty. Every measurement delivered to CNES is generated exclusively by Look Up's own radar infrastructure, and free from third-party sources or external filtering.

For CNES, this means an independent data layer that complements and strengthens the national space object catalogue, with a level of calibration and qualification that sets a new benchmark for operational Space Situational Awareness (SSA) data in France.

A strategic partnership for France’s space sovereignty

This contract is the foundation of a structured, long-term collaboration between Look Up and CNES until 2028. Regular tasking requests to monitor high-priority objects, continuous data delivery to support real-time decision-making, and a shared commitment to enhancing France’s sovereign space surveillance capabilities over the coming years.

Under this agreement, running through 2028, Look Up will provide CNES with three key categories of data:  

• Historical radar data: A comprehensive set of historical radar data enabling CNES to reprocess past observations, validate orbital solutions, and build longitudinal reference datasets for long-term analysis.

• Real-time radar data (tasking): CNES will submit regular surveillance requests, and Look Up will task SORASYS 1 to generate high-fidelity raw radar measurements on specific objects of interest, helping CNES refine their orbital determinations capabilities with independent, sovereign data they can fully trust, improving accuracy and reducing false alarms.
• Conjunction Data Messages (CDMs): Derived from Look Up's catalog, providing CNES with actionable collision-risk assessments and real-time alerts to enhance decision-making and operational safety.

It also sends a strong market signal. SORASYS 1 is operational, commercial data is available, and Look Up is one of the trusted data providers chosen by France’s leading space agency, while actively participating in the EU SST’s expanded user community and sensor network, as evidenced by recent initiatives to grow both the infrastructure and the ecosystem of stakeholders.

For satellite operators, space agencies, and defence organizations looking for high-fidelity, sovereign LEO radar data, SORASYS is now open for business.

About CNES

As France’s space agency, CNES leads major scientific, technological, and environmental missions, while also acting as a programmatic agency, field center, and space operator. It is responsible for shaping and implementing the French government’s space strategy.

About Look Up

Founded in 2022 by Michel Friedling, former French Air & Space Force General and first Commander of French Space Command, and Juan-Carlos Dolado Perez, member of the International Academy of Astronautics and former Head of Space Situational Awareness at CNES, Look Up is a European SpaceTech scale-up aiming to become the global leader in space security, safety, and sustainability.  

Its solution relies on three technological pillars: SYNAPSE, a digital data-fusion and analytics platform, SORASYS, a global radar network for orbital object detection & tracking and an integrated satellite operations management service  

Through this holistic approach and end-to-end control of the value chain, Look Up delivers comprehensive Space Safety & Ops-as-a-Service, ensuring satellite safety and operational continuity in increasingly congested orbits and amid uncertain geopolitical contexts.

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