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The YODA Project
The Chief of Staff of the French Air and Space Forces, General Stephane Mill, pointed to the growing number of "rendezvous between objects" in all orbits, which requires the development of active defense capabilities.
In response to these challenges, the Ministry of Defense launched the TOUTATIS program, which was recently presented as a concept. It should complement earlier projects. Thus, the YODA program, implemented since 2019, provides for the deployment of two "sentry" nanosatellites in low-Earth orbit, whose task is to ensure continuous monitoring of space objects and prevent any malicious activity on their part.
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The TOUTATIS project
Also in development are projects BLOOMLASE, a laser system designed to "blind" enemy observation satellites from earth, and FLAMHE, which involves the deployment of lasers in orbit.
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Splinter Satellite
TOUTATIS provides for the operation of low-orbit vehicles designed to catalog all space objects located on it (approximately 60 thousand units), selectively check the operational characteristics of suspicious satellites, identify potential malicious actions and, ultimately, disable enemy vehicles.
The Splinter and Lisa1 satellites, developed by the U-Space startup, will take part in the project. Together they form space defense systems. The Splinter device will have high maneuverability and a set of subsystems that allow for autonomous movement and target destruction. Lisa1 will be responsible for monitoring.
