Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The European Space Agency (ESA) has achieved a historic milestone, autonomous formation flying with millimetre-level precision.
“Proba-3 proves that bold in-orbit experimentation is essential to turning breakthrough ideas into real space capabilities. ESA does not just design innovation, it flies it,” explains Ian Carnelli, ESA Head of Systems Department.
With Proba-3, two spacecraft operate as one distributed system – fully autonomously, without guidance from Earth.
Powered by onboard autonomous vision and optical and laser metrology, they detect each other from kilometres away, rendezvous, and maintain an ultra-stable formation in orbit.
At the core of Proba-3:
Cooperative and non-cooperative navigation
Autonomous GNC and manoeuvring capability
On-board formation management
Autonomous safety & collision avoidance
The result
A virtual rigid structure in orbit, reconfigurable and resizable, with no continuous ground control or manual intervention. Just trusted onboard intelligence. Proba-3 is not a demo. It is a blueprint for next-generation space systems and represents how Europe is leading autonomous spaceflight.
“Proba-3 shows why in-orbit technology demonstration matters. ESA deliberately takes bold technical risks in space, pushes systems beyond what has ever flown before, and delivers. This is how ground-breaking technologies become operational capabilities, not on paper, but in orbit,” says Damien Galano, Proba-3 mission manager.
Credits: DTU Space
Access the video on the ESA video library: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2025/12/A_first_in_space_autonomy
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Our main YouTube channel: youtube.com/@EuropeanSpaceAgency
Check out our full video catalog: bit.ly/SpaceInVideos
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We are Europe's gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Copyright information about our videos is available here: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Terms_and_Conditions
The European Space Agency (ESA) has achieved a historic milestone, autonomous formation flying with millimetre-level precision.
“Proba-3 proves that bold in-orbit experimentation is essential to turning breakthrough ideas into real space capabilities. ESA does not just design innovation, it flies it,” explains Ian Carnelli, ESA Head of Systems Department.
With Proba-3, two spacecraft operate as one distributed system – fully autonomously, without guidance from Earth.
Powered by onboard autonomous vision and optical and laser metrology, they detect each other from kilometres away, rendezvous, and maintain an ultra-stable formation in orbit.
At the core of Proba-3:
Cooperative and non-cooperative navigation
Autonomous GNC and manoeuvring capability
On-board formation management
Autonomous safety & collision avoidance
The result
A virtual rigid structure in orbit, reconfigurable and resizable, with no continuous ground control or manual intervention. Just trusted onboard intelligence. Proba-3 is not a demo. It is a blueprint for next-generation space systems and represents how Europe is leading autonomous spaceflight.
“Proba-3 shows why in-orbit technology demonstration matters. ESA deliberately takes bold technical risks in space, pushes systems beyond what has ever flown before, and delivers. This is how ground-breaking technologies become operational capabilities, not on paper, but in orbit,” says Damien Galano, Proba-3 mission manager.
Credits: DTU Space
Access the video on the ESA video library: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2025/12/A_first_in_space_autonomy
★ Subscribe: bit.ly/ESAsubscribe and click twice on the bell button to receive our notifications.
Our main YouTube channel: youtube.com/@EuropeanSpaceAgency
Check out our full video catalog: bit.ly/SpaceInVideos
Follow us on Twitter: bit.ly/ESAonTwitter
On Facebook: bit.ly/ESAonFacebook
On Instagram: bit.ly/ESAonInstagram
On LinkedIn: bit.ly/ESAonLinkedIn
On Pinterest: bit.ly/ESAonPinterest
On Flickr: bit.ly/ESAonFlickr
We are Europe's gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Copyright information about our videos is available here: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Terms_and_Conditions
