Pandore & SOAP: Five Months on Orbit with Anywaves Antennas Onboard

Five months ago, two small satellites left Earth together. Today, they’re proving just how far Europe’s Space Sector can go when engineering is smart, fast, and precise. Pandore is busy sending timing signals from low Earth orbit to test a new way of keeping the world’s clocks in sync. SOAP is quietly listening to the space around it, tracking and analysing radio signals to help keep our skies organised.

They have different payloads, different goals – but the same DNA. Built on the same U-Space platform, fitted with the same propulsion system, and kept connected by the same Anywaves antenna suite, these nanosatellites are living proof that one robust RF backbone can serve missions as different as navigation and surveillance.

From the nerve-wracking first hours in orbit to the thrill of the first data packets coming down, Pandore and SOAP have been running smooth. And the best part? Every time they call home, every time they send data, every time they check their position, it’s an Anywaves antenna making it happen. Let’s deep dive on those two missions!

Image: © U-Space

A Tale of Two Missions

Pandore: the Timekeeper

Pandore carries Synchrocube, a European first — the inaugural in-orbit demonstration of LEO-PNT (Low-Earth-Orbit Positioning, Navigation and Timing) technology. This is not just another payload test; it’s a strategic milestone. Synchrocube paves the way for a new generation of constellations able to augment and secure today’s GNSS systems such as GPS or Galileo.

The mission addresses a growing challenge:
Modern digital infrastructure — telecom networks, energy grids, intelligent transport systems, financial transactions — runs on precise and secure timing. Traditionally, that timing comes from GNSS satellites in medium Earth orbit. But GNSS signals are weak when they reach the ground, and can be blocked by buildings, weakened indoors, degraded in dense urban areas, or deliberately jammed or spoofed.

That’s where Synchrocube steps in. From ~600 km in LEO, it delivers stronger, more resilient timing signals, received with better link margins and faster acquisition. Coupled with its on-board GNSS receiver, advanced timekeeping algorithms, and re-transmit capability, Pandore is proving that LEO-PNT can offer a dependable fallback and augmentation layer to GNSS — exactly when it matters most.

And Synchrocube is not just a payload — it’s an end-to-end solution. For the first time, Safran Space is not only innovating in orbit, but also delivering the entire PNT chain: payload, satellite integration, ground segment, and data processing.

“Being part of the Synchrocube project is very rewarding for ANYWAVES. First, because it allows us to act for our industry in the frame of the ‘France Relance’ program. Then because this will give us the opportunity to take a new technological challenge and to propose world-class state-of-the-art antennas. Finally, this development and this collaboration are perfectly aligned with ANYWAVES’ ambition: becoming the leader of miniature antennas for satellite constellations.” — Dr. Nicolas Capet, ANYWAVES CEO

Pandore Identity Card. Credits: © U-Space

SOAP: the Listener

While Pandore transmits, SOAP listens. Its mission is space surveillance and spectrum monitoring — scanning the orbital RF environment, identifying transmitters, and analysing their characteristics.

Why this matters: with more satellites than ever in orbit, the risk of frequency interference and signal conflicts grows. Space situational awareness depends not only on tracking objects but also on understanding who is transmitting what, when, and where. SOAP’s payload collects spectral data from orbit, supporting spectrum regulation, interference resolution, and even potential defence applications.

Why This Matters for Future Missions

For Europe, Synchrocube is a strategic first step toward LEO-PNT constellations that complement and secure GNSS. For space surveillance, SOAP’s work is an essential building block in the global SSA puzzle.

For the satellite market, the success of Pandore and SOAP proves that a single, proven nanosat platform can be rapidly adapted to very different missions — lowering cost, shortening schedules, and reducing risk.

The two nanosats SOAP and Pandore. Image: © U-Space

About the Mission Partners

We’re especially proud of these two missions because it’s a demonstration of what strategic French collaboration can achieve. U-Space, Safran Space (Syrlinks), Comat, MICROTEC an ourselves, Anywaves, have joined forces under the France Relance programme, with CNES support, to deliver missions that redefine time synchronisation standards and reinforce space security. It’s a perfect example of industrial sovereignty in action — designing, building, launching, and operating advanced space systems entirely in France, with each partner contributing cutting-edge expertise.

U-Space (Toulouse) is mission prime, platform designer, integrator, and operator. For Pandore and SOAP, U-Space delivered the 12U CubeSat buses, handled assembly, integration, and testing, and now runs both satellites from its control centre.

Safran Space (Syrlinks brand) leads the Synchrocube payload on Pandore. Backed by the French government’s France Relance programme under CNES oversight, Synchrocube is designed to provide a complementary timing reference from LEO, ideal for dense cities, indoor applications, or scenarios involving intentional interference.

From a technical standpoint, Synchrocube builds on Safran Data Systems’ LEO-PNT heritage, combining precise orbit and time determination with a radio stage able to re-transmit navigation signals from LEO for user experiments.

Comat provided the propulsion system and reaction wheels for fine manoeuvres and attitude control.

MICROTEC contributed a high-power control payload to extend the satellites’ operational capabilities.

And as for us, Anywaves, we supplied the S-band TT&C, X-band payload downlink, and GNSS antennas for both satellites, enabling robust communications, high-rate data return, and precise navigation solutions.

Shared Platform Identity Card – Pandore & SOAP

Here’s the clever part: Pandore and SOAP share the same U-Space platform, the same propulsion from Comat, and the same Anywaves RF hardware. We will focus on the RF system on the next section, for now let’s deep dive on the nanosatellite platform – a compact, versatile 12U CubeSat bus designed for flexibility, reliability, and rapid integration.

Image: © U-Space

Anywaves Onboard: Getting the RF Links, and the Science, Home

Pandore and SOAP are different at heart but share the same Anywaves RF hardware, the foundation of their communication and navigation performance.

• S-band TT&C antennas: the “voice line” for spacecraft control — wide coverage, stable link margins, vital for early orbit and safe operations.
• X-band payload downlink antennas: the “data channel” — steady gain, compact, enabling both Pandore’s timing datasets and SOAP’s spectral data to be sent to Earth within tight LEO pass windows.
• GNSS antennas: the “positioning reference” — phase-centre stability for precise orbit determination, crucial for timing accuracy on Pandore and RF geolocation on SOAP.

In addition, a custom-made compact wideband antenna was specifically developed for this mission. Tailored to the Pandore/SOAP requirements, this antenna brings several key advantages:

• a fractional bandwidth up to 100%, enabling coverage from UHF to S-band with circular polarization
• highly stable radiation patterns, making it well-suited for spectrum monitoring and extended functionality on the platform
• an ultra-compact footprint (less than 1U), designed and manufactured with fully space-qualified materials and processes (vibration, shock, and thermal vacuum cycles).

This is French antenna engineering at its finest: compact, radiation-qualified, and optimised for the demands of modern nanosat missions. And yes, all of that is flying on both satellites, right now!

Life in Orbit: What’s Happened So Far

Since launch, Pandore and SOAP have gone through the usual “spacecraft boot camp”:

• Orbit stabilisation — aligning and settling into their sun-synchronous slots.
• In-flight software updates — securely upgrading onboard systems without interrupting mission ops.
• Payload commissioning — methodical testing and calibration to match predicted performance.
• First data acquisitions — confirming both payloads are fully functional and antennas are delivering the link quality expected.

Today, routine ops are largely automated, letting engineers focus on optimising the science: refining Pandore’s signal modes, and tuning SOAP’s surveillance parameters.

Image: © U-Space

What’s Next in the Mission Timeline

For Pandore, the next phase is all about expanding its test matrix: more ground stations, more environments, more receiver types. The aim is to gather enough data to model how a full LEO-PNT constellation could perform in the real world.

For SOAP, the focus is refining its spectral analysis routines and integrating its results into broader space-situational-awareness networks. It’s about going from “we heard a signal” to “we know exactly what it is, where it came from, and why it matters.”

Conclusion

Five months in, Pandore and SOAP are delivering results that go beyond their individual goals. Pandore’s Synchrocube payload has set a European first in LEO-PNT, and SOAP is strengthening our ability to monitor and manage the orbital RF environment. Both are built on the same platform, powered by the same Anywaves antennas, and operated by a French industrial alliance that represents the best of our national expertise.

In orbit, they are complementary: one keeps time, one keeps watch. On the ground, they prove that French New Space can innovate at world-class level and, more importantly, can do it together.