Brugg/Villigen/Ecublens - A consortium including Swiss members has completed the ESA's REACT project. Together with Ateleris, the EPFL Space Center, and the Paul Scherrer Institute, it has developed software that incorporates environmental impacts into space mission planning.
(CONNECT) The European Space Agency’s (ESA) REACT project, led by the Space Center at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), has resulted in the startup company EcoDeltaV. It was founded at the end of November 2025 as a spin-off from the EPFL and the University of Stuttgart and is located in Ecublens in the Swiss canton of Vaud.
EcoDeltaV’s builds upon the space-specific Assessment and Comparison Tool (ACT), which has been in development since 2023 as part of a proof of concept study, according to a statement. The software evaluates rockets and space missions throughout their entire life cycle, considering overall environmental impact – from manufacturing and fuel consumption to atmospheric emissions and contribution to space debris.
A consortium led by the EPFL Space Center was assigned the task of ACT's development. Those involved included the software engineering company Ateleris GmbH from Brugg, the Technology Assessment Group at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Villigen in the Swiss canton of Aargau, which shared its expertise in life cycle analysis, the Institute for Space Systems at the University of Stuttgart with its experience with launch vehicles and their impact on the upper atmosphere, and two French entities with ISAE Supaero on board for trajectory optimisation and WaysEhead as consultant on the legal and economic trends.
The Assessment and Comparison Tool is designed for use in the space sector, specifically during the early planning stages of missions. Here it can help ensure that, for example, satellites’ journeys into space leave as small a footprint as possible, both on Earth and in space. It is described as a space-specific tool for simplified and forward-looking life cycle assessments, providing guidelines for eco-design and decision-making.
From 2026, the tool will be made available to the space sector via EcoDeltaV. According to the statement, the startup company will initially offer professional services using the Assessment and Comparison Tool before releasing the software as a service directly to industry players. ce/mm
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