As Europe moves toward a new generation of Earth Observation (EO) missions, the complexity of ground-segment operations grows rapidly. Each mission brings its own systems for tasking, data access, and communications — often operating independently. Over three years, has DOMINO-E designed and validated services that contribute to a federated Ground Staation architecture for Earth observation.
At the heart of this concept are three components: the Virtual Assistant Service (VAS), the Coverage Service (CS), and theSatellite Communication and Resource Management Service (SCRMS). Together they form an intelligent chain that turns user requests into scheduled satellite operations and optimized communication plans.
From Conversation to Command: The Virtual Assistant Service
The first step begins with the Virtual Assistant Service, a conversational interface that allows users to interact with complex satellite systems through natural language. Instead of using command-line tools or technical forms, users can simply describe what they want — for example, “show me images of the Sichuan region from this month.”
The VAS interprets such queries, identifies available constellations, and guides the user through parameter selection, including resolution, date range, and cloud-cover limits. Once the request is complete, the assistant transfers it to the Coverage Service, where the technical planning begins.
This approach significantly simplifies mission tasking and lowers the threshold for accessing EO data. During testing, VAS reduced task-completion times by up to 75 percent while maintaining high accuracy in interpreting user intent.
Planning Without Borders: The Coverage Service
Once a user request is received, the Coverage Service takes responsibility for scheduling the observation based on the mission trajectories of Constellation Optique 3D (CO3D) by CNES and Pléiades Neo by Airbus Defence and Space. The idea: to maximize observation efficiency.
The Coverage Service divides the user’s area of interest into smaller Programming Requests and assigns them to available Mission Chains. Each mission chain then translates these programming requests into concrete acquisitions based on orbital dynamics and sensor capabilities.
The system’s core algorithm aims to minimize the overall completion date of the observation while avoiding redundant tasking between missions. It continuously updates its internal coverage estimates, recomputing completion forecasts whenever real acquisition data becomes available.
In the end-to-end validation, this service proved capable of re-dispatching tasks automatically. When actual progress differed from planned progress, the Coverage Service reassigned acquisitions between missions — for instance, moving observations from Pléiades Neo to CO3D — ensuring efficient use of resources and faster completion.#
Connecting Space and Ground: The SCRMS
Every observation request eventually leads to data that must be transmitted to Earth. Here, the Satellite Communication and Resource Management Service — or SCRMS — manages the essential link between satellites and ground stations.
SCRMS optimizes communication by allocating contact windows across different ground-station networks. It monitors available stations, communication bands, and transmission costs, and automatically adjusts booking plans when observation priorities or satellite availability change.
In the DOMINO-E demonstration, each re-dispatch performed by the Coverage Service triggered an update in SCRMS. The communication plan was recalculated in real time, reducing the number of booked ground-station slots and aligning them precisely with the new coverage plan. This dynamic coordination showed that federated resource management can maintain full data-transfer efficiency while minimizing operational overhead.
Validation Through the End-to-End Scenario
To prove that these services could operate together as one integrated system, DOMINO-E partners deployed all components on a shared cloud-based testbed. The Virtual Assistant ran in its own namespace, while the Coverage Service and SCRMS operated jointly, communicating through HTTP requests.
The test scenario followed a full operational cycle: a user defined an observation area through the VAS, the Coverage Service planned and re-planned acquisitions across multiple missions, and SCRMS adapted communication schedules accordingly.
Key performance indicators — such as coverage efficiency, task-completion time, and communication fulfilment — were continuously monitored through Grafana dashboards. The results confirmed the concept: coverage exceeded 95 percent, communication fulfilment reached 100 percent, and both tasking and contact-plan updates ran autonomously.
A Federated Future for Europe’s EO Infrastructure
The DOMINO-E end-to-end validation marks the first complete demonstration of the resepctive services for a federated ground-segment architecture for European Earth Observation. By linking natural-language interaction, automated planning, and dynamic communication management, the project has shown that EO missions can operate more efficiently, collaboratively, and autonomously.
As DOMINO-E concludes, its results lay the groundwork for future European initiatives that will rely on shared infrastructure and intelligent automation — ensuring that Europe’s EO ecosystem remains connected, resilient, and ready for the next generation of missions.