Software-defined ground segments: the digitalization of spacecraft operations.

While the space industry is often characterized by rapid growth in satellite constellations and launch capabilities, the most significant exponential increase lies in operational complexity and the accelerating pace of change.

Software has emerged as the critical enabler for orchestrating, automating, and scaling space operations. However, many Mission Operation Centers remain architected according to paradigms established decades ago, resulting in rigid and cost-intensive operational models.

At Leanspace, the objective is to scale mission operations by a factor of 1000 without a proportional increase in cost. This presentation discusses the key limitations of legacy ground segment architectures and explores how software-defined approaches, as implemented at Leanspace, can enable more agile, scalable, and cost-efficient spacecraft operations.