Skynopy announces that it has been selected as a winner of the FASEP – Digital Infrastructures program, a financing scheme of the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty (Bercy), for the SkyConnect Kenya project, carried out in collaboration with Safran Space (a member company of Safran Space).
A structuring project serving the Kenya Space Agency
The Kenya Space Agency (KSA) operates a 4.5-meter S/X-band Earth observation antenna, recently installed at its Nairobi site. Currently used for a single satellite, this infrastructure has significant excess capacity.
Through the SkyConnect Kenya project, Skynopy, in partnership with Safran Space, proposes to deploy its Ground Station Stack technology on the KSA antenna in order to:
● integrate the Kenyan antenna into Skynopy’s global network of ground stations,
● orchestrate operations through a secure digital infrastructure,
● ensure mission operations using off-the-shelf virtualized solutions “Nuron” (Digitizer and virtual modems) and the expertise of Safran Space teams,
● enable end-to-end Cloud connectivity for geospatial data transfer,
● monetize the available capacity by making it available to Skynopy’s satellite operator customers.
This Skynopy-led project is the first carried out with a space agency and the first integration of an institutional antenna within a commercial ground station network.
French industrial collaboration enabling an innovative and value-creating partnership model
This innovative institutional-commercial approach is made possible by the complementarity of sovereign French technologies developed by Skynopy and Safran Space.
To promote its mastery of secure software orchestration and its expertise in satellite link operations, Skynopy relies on the performance and reliability of Safran Space’ virtualized ground equipment, as well as on its recognized leadership in digital signal processing for space communications.
Through this collaboration, SkyConnect Kenya promises an optimized ground architecture model ensuring efficient satellite communication operations.
This pilot project paves the way for replicating the model in other countries with significant excess ground infrastructure capacity, contributing to better asset utilization, the strengthening of local space ecosystems, and the development of sovereign and sustainable satellite connectivity.
Kenya Space Agency Statement:
“The Kenya Space Agency (KSA) is pleased to partner in the SkyConnect Kenya Project, spearheaded by Skynopy in partnership with Safran Space. This collaboration presents a unique opportunity to develop national space capability and space operations through commercialization of the extra capacity of the KSA ground receiver station. It marks the country’s first-of-its-kind public–private partnership (PPP) in utilization of ground-based space infrastructure, underscoring a shared commitment to innovation, capacity building, and sustainable growth. Kenya Space Agency remains confident that this partnership will deliver transformative impact, fostering technological progress and enhancing Kenya’s space operations”.
Supporting French digital and space companies for export
The FASEP (Private Sector Study and Aid Fund) supports innovative projects led by French companies contributing to the development of strategic infrastructures in partner countries.
Skynopy and Safran Space participated in the official FASEP Digital Infrastructure awards ceremony held at Bercy, in the presence of Ms. Anne Le Henanff, Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs.
On this occasion, Skynopy and Safran Space jointly presented the SkyConnect Kenya project and the structuring role of FASEP funding for the digitization of an Earth observation antenna of the Kenya Space Agency, alongside other FASEP winners such as Eutelsat.
About Skynopy
Founded in October 2023 by Pierre Bertrand (CEO) and Antonin Hirsch (CTO), Skynopy develops a turnkey satellite connectivity solution designed to provide operators with simple, fast, and reliable access to their satellites. This solution optimizes mission control, in-orbit operations, and constellation management.
Relying on a global network of antennas built through strategic partnerships and reinforced by the progressive deployment of proprietary antennas, Skynopy already supports around ten satellite operators. This international expansion strategy has enabled the company to reach exceptional momentum, with 17 operational sites worldwide in less than 18 months.
Press Contacts Skynopy
Ilinca Spita – 06 64 75 12 98 – ilinca@edifice-communication.com (EN)
Stéphane Laurain – 06 98 58 38 35 stephane@edifice-communication.com
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