ONERA Selects AMOS to Build French Space Surveillance Telescope
The French aerospace research agency ONERA has selected Belgian firm AMOS to build PROVIDENCE, a high-resolution ground-based telescope for space surveillance. The project aims to enhance French sovereignty by monitoring satellites and space debris, with operations expected to begin in 2029.
Why it matters
This project highlights the growing importance of space situational awareness for national security and the development of European defense capabilities.
Belgium’s AMOS has been selected by the French aerospace research agency ONERA to build PROVIDENCE, a 2.5-metre ground-based telescope that will provide detailed images of satellites in low Earth orbit for the French Air and Space Force. The telescope is expected to enter service in early 2029.
Preliminary studies for PROVIDENCE began in 2020, with the Haute-Provence Observatory in southeastern France selected to host the new telescope in November 2023. On 22 July 2026, ONERA announced that it had selected AMOS to design and manufacture PROVIDENCE.
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