Deploying and Operating the 25-Satellite Kinéis Constellation, Challenges and Lessons Learned

This Kinéis constellation is made of 25 30kg-class satellites, equipped with electric propulsion. The missions are dedicated to IoT (Internet of Things) connectivity and to AIS (Automatic Identification System) monitoring. The satellites were launched by batches of 5, the first took place in June 2024, the last one in March 2025. The paper discusses how the Ground Control Segment was developed and validated within a complex system and with strong schedule constraints. The validation plan was designed to rapidly de-risk the challenges due to multi- satellite aspects, to focus on a few critical tests and to allow a strong agility for taking into account the parallel developments of the ground segment, the flight software and the simulation tools. The constellation deployment in less than one year was challenging, due to the number of satellites to be operated. Having at the same time, some satellites in LEOP (Launch and Early Orbit Phase) and others conducting in-orbit validation, orbit raising and finally others already in “routine” phase. This required some specific management of the operations and of the team organization. The CONOPS (CONcept of OPerationS) is designed to reach a high automation level, allowing to operate such a constellation with staffing constraints, while ensuring the right level of satellite safety and mission availability for a 8-year mission duration.