Happy New Year from the SATERA Team!

As we step into 2026, we want to wish all our readers a year filled with success, innovation, and new opportunities. With the start of a new year, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the incredible journey SATERA has taken—and to look ahead to all that’s on the horizon.

In this third Edition of the SATERA Newsletter, we’re excited to share the story of the last six months—how we’ve continued to push boundaries, tackle new challenges, and build on the strong foundation we’ve laid so far. From exciting breakthroughs to valuable lessons learned, this issue will give you a front-row seat to SATERA’s ongoing evolution.

So, let’s dive in and explore everything that’s been happening behind the scenes as we continue to drive innovation and make an impact in our field. The journey is far from over, and we can’t wait to bring you along for the next chapter.

MetroAeroSpace 2025 participation

On 20 June 2025, our paper titled “Robust and resilient GNSS synchronization of LEO satellites for space-based aircraft multilateration ” presented at the MetroAeroSpace Conference Naples, Italy.

This paper aims at developing a robust and resilient synchronization framework for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites based on the combination of GNSS and Precision Time Protocol (PTP) via inter-satellite link. The satellite synchronization is needed to enable precise aircraft tracking in areas without radar coverage, by leveraging Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) signals and advanced localization algorithms, exploiting Time Of Arrival (TOA), Frequency Of Arrival (FOA), and Angle Of Arrival (AOA). An Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) corrects onboard clock errors in real time, while detecting and mitigating anomalies or cyber-attacks like GNSS jamming, spoofing or denial of service. Nanosecond accuracy under nominal and disrupted conditions is obtained, significantly enhancing safety and reliability of the tracking system.

The paper written by: Mauro Leonardi , Mahsa Mohebbi , Giulio Sidoretti

Presented by : Mahsa Mohebbi

IEEE AP-S/URSI 2025 Symposium participation

From 13 to 18 July, part of the SATERA team traveled to Ottawa to present a paper “L-Band Unit-Cell Antenna Design for Satellite-Based ADS-B Surveillance”, written by

This research plays a key role in supporting SATERA’s vision of a scalable, high-performance space-based surveillance system using ADS-B and enhanced multilateration from LEO satellites. The antenna designs they presented — including a magnetoelectric dipole and a circular patch array — are crucial building blocks for ensuring 360º coverage and accurate aircraft tracking in remote or oceanic airspace.

The paper written by: Javier Vera Sànchez, Miguel Ferrando-Rocher, Gorka Casasús-Goyeneche, and Miguel Ferrando-Bataller, from Universitat Politècnica de valència (UPV)

Presented by: Miguel Ferrando-Bataller

One of our team members featured in the news!

Over the past months, Tiago Cruz, professor at the University of Coimbra and collaborator at SATERA, was interviewed by 24 Notícias about the recent GPS interference incident that affected the flight of the President of the European Commission over Bulgaria.

In the interview, Tiago explained how cyberattacks can disrupt navigation systems and highlighted the importance of resilience, redundancy, and alternative strategies to ensure safe operations in critical infrastructures.

We are proud to see our experts contributing to the public debate on cybersecurity and satellite navigation, reinforcing the value of bridging research with real-world applications.

Our team from the Universitat Politècnica de València took part in the URSI 2025 Symposium, held in Tarragona from September 3rd to 5th, 2025. At the conference, Javier Vera-Sánchez presented the paper “Diseño de agrupaciones piramidales para vigilancia ADS-B por satélite”, co-authored with Miguel Ferrando-Rocher, Gorka Casasús-Goyeneche, and Miguel Ferrando-Bataller. 

And another paper titted: " Diseño y Análisis de una Antena en Banda L para la Recepción ADS-B desde Satélites LEO", co-authored with Gorka Casasús-Goyeneche, Miguel Ferrando-Rocher, Javier Vera-Sánchez, Miguel Ferrando-Bataller. 

SATERA's First workshop, Cork,Irland

On 19 September 2025, the first SATERA workshop was successfully held at Collins Aerospace in Cork,Ireland. The event brought together project partners, SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking representatives, and aerospace experts to discuss the progress and future directions of the SATERA project (Space-based composite ADS-B and Multilateration system validation through scalable simulations).

The workshop opened with a warm welcome from Collins Aerospace, who also presented their ongoing strategic initiatives in advanced aerospace technologies. This was followed by an introduction from the project coordinator (UPV) and SESAR 3JU, setting the stage for an engaging day of collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Key highlights included:

 • Project overview and objectives: advancing a space-based composite surveillance system (ADS-B + E-MLAT) to ensure robust, safe, and environmentally sustainable air traffic management in areas beyond the reach of ground infrastructure.

 • Technical sessions: covering simulator development, use cases, functional requirements, and validation approaches.

 • Roundtable discussions: allowing partners to share insights and align on next steps.

 • Future outlook – SATERA 2.0: moving towards advanced demonstration and verification phases to bring the concept closer to industrial implementation.

The workshop showcased the strong collaboration between the six partners across five countries and reaffirmed the project’s commitment to shaping the future of space-based surveillance for global aviation safety and efficiency.

On Monday 22 September 2025 , our team gathered in Brussels for the Intermediate Project Review meeting with SESAR Joint Undertaking.
It was a great opportunity to present our progress, exchange insights, and align on the next steps toward shaping the future of aviation innovation. 

Our paper, 'Exploratory Performance Evaluation of VM Migration as MQTT Moving Target Defence', has been accepted for presentation at the 21st International Conference on Network and Service Management (CNSM 2025).
This work, authored by a joint Portuguese-Brazilian team composed by Matheus Torquato, Tiago Cruz, Denis Rosario, Michele Nogueira, and Eduardo Nogueira, explores the impact of introducing a VM migration–based survivability mechanism in a message queuing service. The study evaluates how such recoverability strategies affect the performance of message queue systems processing large volumes of data, something of crucial importance for SATERA use cases involving the massive exchange of tracking information between ground stations, central processing units, and ATC consumer endpoints.
This research contributes to SATERA’s vision of a scalable, high-performance space-based surveillance system using ADS-B and enhanced multilateration from LEO satellites.

IAC conference participation

On 1 October 2025, our SATERA team presented the paper “Space-based multilateration system for a GNSS-independent aircraft localisation” at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Sydney, Australia. 🛰✈️

📡 The SATERA project proposes an innovative constellation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to receive ADS-B signals from aircraft and perform enhanced multilateration (E-MLAT). By combining Time of Arrival (TOA), Frequency of Arrival (FOA), and Angle of Arrival (AOA) measurements, the system enables independent aircraft localisation, validating or substituting GNSS when unavailable or unreliable.

🌍 This approach ensures accurate tracking even in remote areas without ground infrastructure, providing availability above 99.9% and localisation errors below 350 meters, in line with EUROCONTROL en-route requirements.

The paper written by Mauro Leonardi, Giulio Sidoretti, Edoardo Navarra, and Mahsa Mohebbi.  

Presented by Giulio Sidoretti

EASN Participation

Our SATERA team presented the poster “SATERA PPT: A Performance Prediction Tool for Satellite-Based Air Traffic Independent Localisation and Surveillance” at the European Aeronautics Science Network (EASN) International Conference 2025 . 🛰✈️
📡 The SATERA PPT proposes a satellite multilateration concept as a backup and validation system for GNSS-independent air traffic surveillance. The Performance Prediction Tool (PPT), developed in MATLAB, evaluates the localisation performance for different Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, using Time, Frequency, and Angle of Arrival measurements.
💡 The tool integrates mathematical models for TOA, FOA, AOA, and Cramér–Rao Lower Bound (CRLB) analysis, providing a detailed performance assessment across various scenarios. This allows the design and validation of robust satellite-based ATC systems to improve air traffic capacity, security, and safety over remote areas.

SATERA Partner interview

On October 2025, We published an in-depth video featuring the SATERA partners explaining the project. They discussed the "why" and "how" behind our work, providing authentic insights into the challenges and inspirations driving us.

✨SATERA at SIDs2025✨

The SATERA team touched down in Slovenia to join the European ATM research community at the SESAR Innovation Days 2025 (2–5 December).

Our representative took part in the event to showcase our latest findings on space-based CNS. From the technical presentation on stage to the networking sessions, it was a productive experience for the project.

SATERA Featured on Delta 13 News website

Shaping the Future of Air Traffic Safety with Satellites We are thrilled to announce that SATERA has been recognized for its crucial work in a recent feature by Delta 13 News – Seguridad e Inteligencia. The article, published on December 11, 2025, highlights how SATERA is pioneering the next generation of air traffic surveillance. By using Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites and developing a new, independent integrity estimator, SATERA is directly addressing vulnerabilities in current systems.

Follow us on social media to know more: