Spaceo leads €3M project to create satellite airbag
Spaceo leads €3M project to create satellite airbag
The international consortium led by Spaceo, a startup incubated at UPTEC – Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto, has won the contract to develop a new technology for collecting end-of-mission satellites and space junk.
The SWIFT (Spacecraft With Inflatable Termination) project, budgeted at 3 million euros, involves launching an inflatable drag sail into space to speed up de-orbiting and guarantee a more sustainable space environment.
SWIFT is designed to become the standard equipment on board all satellites to be launched in the future. “Currently, satellites complete their mission and remain in Earth orbit for decades, exacerbating the problem of space debris”, emphasises João Pedro Loureiro, founder of Spaceo.
The process of removing inactive satellites – and there are around 9,900 flying over the Earth – can take decades. “Our technology will allow satellites to be disintegrated in a controlled manner in the future – once they are obsolete, they begin a downward trajectory that will cause them to glow and disintegrate – helping to reduce space junk”, adds the founder.
The system has compact dimensions, occupying just 100 mm3, and when activated it inflates a 1.5 m2 drag sail capable of ‘hugging’ 12U-type satellites weighing up to 24 kilograms. “Although it was initially conceived for small satellites, SWIFT’s design is scalable and can be adapted for larger satellites and even satellite constellations”, says Pedro Miguel Carneiro, co-founder of Spaceo.
Spaceo: leader of European multinational consortium
Spaceo will lead both phases of the SWIFT project: the ground development phase and the launch and orbital experimentation phase. “When everything is finalised in 2028, it is very likely that SWIFT will be launched in the United States by SpaceX”, explains João Pedro Loureiro.
The consortium led by Spaceo includes three other European companies: Luxembourg’s GomSpace, France’s SpaceLocker and the Netherlands’ SolidFlow.
In 2023, Spaceo received funding from Portugal Ventures under the INNOV-ID call.
March 20, 2025