What if the same technology that keeps drones from colliding over the sky could protect satellites from crashing into each other 500 kilometres above Earth? That's the bet Skypuzzler is making and with a signed ESA Spark Funding project underway and a landmark investment from United Airlines Ventures just announced, it's looking like a very good one!

The Company: Skypuzzler

Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Copenhagen, Skypuzzler has built one of the most advanced digital air traffic control platforms in the world. Their integrated Digital Air Traffic Control system (iDATC) manages airspace across drones, advanced air mobility vehicles, and increasingly complex urban environments — combining strategic (pre-departure) and tactical (in-flight) deconfliction to prevent conflicts before they arise and resolve them dynamically in real time.

The Spark Funding Project: ASTraCoRe

The ESA Spark Fundning programme supports companies from non-space sectors that have technologies with potential to be adapted and applied within the space domain.

Skypuzzler's ESA Spark Funding project is called ASTraCoRe (Autonomous Space Traffic Conjunction Resolution). The project is a classic spin-in: technology proven in the non-space world, transferred to a space application. In this case, Skypuzzler is adapting their iDATC platform, already at Technology Readiness Level 6, to manage satellite collision avoidance in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Their new space product, called iDSTC (integrated Digital Space Traffic Control), will autonomously calculate optimised avoidance manoeuvres for multiple satellites simultaneously, unlike existing solutions that primarily focus on one-to-one collision warnings.

The Investment That Validates the Vision

Just as the ASTraCoRe project gets underway, Skypuzzler has announced a landmark investment from United Airlines Ventures, the venture arm of one of the world's largest airlines. The investment follows a seed round closed in July 2025 with the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund and German VC Rethink Ventures

The United Airlines Ventures investment confirms that Skypuzzler's platform is not just technically sound, it's commercially compelling. And with space now firmly in their roadmap, Skypuzzler is building the digital foundation for airspace management from rooftop to orbit.

Read more about this news story here.

What's Next

From preventing drone collisions over city skies to protecting satellite constellations in orbit, Skypuzzler is building something truly innovative: a platform that scales from rooftop to orbit and a business that could define the future of autonomous airspace management.

"If it works on Earth, use it for space."

That's the logic of ESA Spark Funding.

Could your company's technology be transferred to the fast-growing space industry? Find out more about ESA Technology Broker Spark Funding.