Skynopy has been selected as a winner of the FASEP – Digital Infrastructures programme, a financing initiative backed by the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty (Bercy), for its SkyConnect Kenya project. The initiative is being delivered in partnership with Safran Space and is designed to strengthen and modernise the ground infrastructure capabilities of the Kenya Space Agency (KSA).
At the heart of the project is a 4.5-metre S/X-band Earth observation antenna recently installed at KSA’s Nairobi facility. While the antenna is currently dedicated to a single satellite mission, it has considerable unused capacity. SkyConnect Kenya aims to optimise this asset by enhancing its operational efficiency and unlocking its commercial potential.
Under the project, Skynopy will deploy its proprietary Ground Station Stack technology on the KSA antenna, integrating it into the company’s global network of commercial ground stations. Operations will be managed through a secure digital infrastructure, while mission activities will rely on Safran Space’s off-the-shelf virtualised “Nuron” solutions, including digitalisers and virtual modems, supported by the expertise of Safran Space engineering teams. The project will also introduce end-to-end cloud connectivity to enable efficient geospatial data transfer and allow surplus antenna capacity to be offered to Skynopy’s satellite operator customers.
SkyConnect Kenya represents a first for Skynopy, marking both its initial collaboration with a national space agency and the first integration of an institutional antenna into a commercial ground station network. The project reflects a novel institutional-commercial model enabled by the complementary strengths of French sovereign technologies developed by Skynopy and Safran Space.
By combining Skynopy’s capabilities in secure software orchestration and satellite link operations with Safran Space’s proven leadership in virtualised ground systems and digital signal processing, the partnership aims to deliver a streamlined and efficient ground architecture. The pilot project is expected to serve as a reference model that can be replicated in other countries with underutilised ground infrastructure, supporting better asset use, stronger local space ecosystems and the development of sustainable and sovereign satellite connectivity.
The Kenya Space Agency welcomed the collaboration, describing it as the country’s first public–private partnership focused on the commercial use of ground-based space infrastructure. KSA said the project offers a significant opportunity to enhance national space capabilities, commercialise excess ground station capacity and drive innovation, skills development and long-term growth within Kenya’s space sector.
The FASEP (Private Sector Study and Aid Fund) programme supports innovative, French-led projects that contribute to the development of strategic infrastructure in partner countries. Skynopy and Safran Space were formally recognised at the FASEP Digital Infrastructure awards ceremony held at Bercy, attended by France’s Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, Anne Le Henanff. During the event, the two companies jointly presented SkyConnect Kenya, highlighting the catalytic role of FASEP funding in digitising KSA’s Earth observation antenna, alongside other award recipients including Eutelsat.
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