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HEO establishes French presence as European demand grows for sovereign capabilities to see, identify and understand objects in orbit
PARIS, France, [September 10, 2026] – HEO announced today the opening of a new office in France, establishing a local presence to support customers and partners across France and the wider European market with intelligence on space objects.
France was one of the earliest movers in developing in-orbit inspection capabilities. In 1998, CNES used its SPOT-4 satellite to capture an image of the European Space Agency’s ERS-1 satellite in orbit. In 2012, CNES rotated its Pléiades satellite to image the Envisat spacecraft from approximately 100 kilometres away. Today, France is moving from individual demonstrations toward sovereign, operational capability, including through the France 2030-backed DIANE programme for in-orbit inspection and initiatives focused on space-based surveillance.
HEO will bring its proven commercial Non-Earth Imaging (NEI) capability to this growing European ecosystem, providing resolved imagery and intelligence on satellites, debris and other objects in orbit. Its technology enables spacecraft to image other spacecraft from orbit, turning imagery into intelligence about an object's condition, behaviour and activity.
"France was demonstrating non-Earth imaging well before we had a public name for it," said Dr. Will Crowe, CEO and Co-Founder of HEO. "What's changed is the increase of activity in space and the scale of what needs to be understood. France is now building sovereign infrastructure to do this as a matter of national capability and we want to be the partner that helps get there faster."
The new France office will bring HEO closer to customers, government organisations, primes and emerging space companies across France and Europe. It marks another step in HEO's international expansion as the company builds the infrastructure required to make space intelligence accessible across orbital regimes and allied markets.
Dr. Will Crowe will be in Paris later this month for World Satellite Business Week, where he will meet with customers, partners and industry leaders to discuss the growing role of space-based intelligence in understanding activity in orbit.
About HEO
HEO is building the intelligence layer for space. We image objects in orbit on demand, turning existing satellites into inspection platforms and building our own sensors where coverage gaps remain. Our software automates tasking, capture and analysis, turning imagery into decision-ready intelligence about satellites, debris and other objects in orbit. HEO operates internationally, with offices in Australia, France, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Our goal is to make any image in the Solar System available on demand.
Media contact:
Dane Brumm
media@heospace.com
