Flamingo 2

Flamingo 2 [Vyoma]

Vyoma�s Flamingo 2 is an ESPA-class space surveillance satellite built by Aerospacelab of Belgium for the German company Vyoma.

The mission is dedicated to Space Domain Awareness and space debris monitoring in low Earth orbit. Flamingo-2 is designed to detect, track, and catalog resident space objects, contributing data to improve the safety and sustainability of orbital operations.

The satellite supplements Vyoma�s existing space situational awareness services, which currently rely on third-party networks of ground-based sensors. From orbit, Flamingo-2 is not affected by atmospheric conditions and can observe targets independently of weather and daylight constraints.

The primary mission objective is the tracking of objects larger than 10 centimeters in low Earth orbit using space-based optical sensors. This capability complements ground-based optical telescopes, which under favorable conditions can observe objects down to approximately six centimeters through dedicated tracking.

In the longer term, the Flamingo satellites are intended to support Vyoma�s goal of monitoring debris as small as one centimeter in low Earth orbit. Such objects are presently not trackable with existing ground-based systems. Space-based platforms operating in a semi-autonomous surveillance mode are planned to close this observational gap.

Flamingo-2 is manufactured by Aerospacelab using the Versatile Satellite Platform-50 (VSP-50). The contract represents the second commercial customer for this satellite platform. Aerospacelab is a Belgian small satellite manufacturer specializing in modular, series-produced spacecraft.

The VSP-50 platform is designed for ESPA-class missions and supports payloads such as optical telescopes for Earth-independent observation. The satellite is optimized for low Earth orbit operations and autonomous tasking, enabling continuous surveillance and data collection.

Flamingo-2 is part of Vyoma�s planned phased deployment of a space-based surveillance constellation. Vyoma targets a total of 12 satellites in orbit by 2026.