site.btaEuropean Union Space Surveillance and Tracking Partnership: Bulgaria Set to Join EU Space-Tracking Network

Bulgaria is set to join the European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking Partnership initiative for space surveillance and tracking, the European Commission press centre said on Friday. Belgium, Lithuania and Luxembourg are also set to join the initiative.

The European Commission greenlighted their applications to join the European Union (EU) Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) partnership in its Implementing Decision C(2025)8684 on December 17, 2025. This is another major milestone for the EU SST subcomponent, an important initiative to keep space assets safe from in-orbit collisions in light of increasing space activities, the Commission said.

In November, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria adopted a decision approving Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking Partnership. The decision said Bulgaria’s inclusion in the European initiative was appropriate and would help build a modern space ecosystem that supports economic growth by developing Bulgaria’s space industry and encouraging international partnerships.

The European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking Partnership is a prime example of EU cooperation: 15 Member States network their space assets and work together to safeguard more than 600 satellites from collisions in space, and inform numerous partners on in-orbit fragmentations and uncontrolled re-entries of space objects into the Earth’s atmosphere, the European Commission press service said.

"The European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking Partnership is a prime example of EU cooperation: 15 Member States network their space assets and work together to safeguard more than 600 satellites from collisions in space, and inform numerous partners on in-orbit fragmentations and uncontrolled re-entries of space objects into the Earth’s atmosphere," the European Commission press service said.

EU SST uses a network of ground-based sensors capable of surveying and tracking space objects and processing capabilities aimed at improving, operating, and providing data, information and services on space objects orbiting the Earth.

The next step in the expansion process will be the signature of relevant EU SST Agreements to include the new countries. The EU also plans to conclude a grant extension to co-finance EU SST activities until mid-2028.

EU SST is a subcomponent of the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) component of the EU Space Programme. The system safeguards space assets, especially EU Space Programme satellites such as Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus, GOVSATCOM and, in future, IRIS², along with the space assets of Member States and other space operators, the European Commission added.