Name

Libre Space Foundation

Legal name

Libre Space Foundation

Website

https://libre.space

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Libre Space Foundation is a Greek non-profit (AMKE), registered in Athens since 2015, that develops open-source hardware, software, and protocols for space — from the 500+ station SatNOGS ground-segment network to PocketQube satellites and the IPFS-tiny data protocol — serving hobbyists, researchers, and space agencies worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Open-Source Space Technology

NAICS

Satellite Telecommunications (517410), Software Publishers (51321), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)

SIC

Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Computer Communications Equipment (3576)

akta.pro primary industry

Spacecraft Avionics, Flight Computers & Software (IMABACAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Space Payloads & Instruments (Sensors, Comms, EO/IR) (IMABACAD), Guidance, Navigation & Control (GNC) for Space Systems (IMABACAG), Satellite Broadband Terminals & Gateways (VSAT/LEO CPE) (HDAFAIAM)

Keywords

• Open-source space technology
• Satellite ground stations
• PocketQube satellites
• Space hardware designs
• Spectrum monitoring missions

Headquarters

HQ city

Athens

HQ country

Greece

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: LSF is a Greek non-profit (AMKE) funded primarily by donations. Natural persons in Greece may claim tax deductions under Article 19 of Law 4172/2013 for donations to eligible non-profits. No shareholder distributions are made. The foundation handles AML due diligence per Greek Law 4557/2018, with enhanced due diligence for donations of €500+ and source-of-funds declarations for €1,000+.
2. Hardware and Merchandise Sales: LSF operates a store selling open-source hardware kits, components, and branded merchandise. Products include SatNOGS rotators, PICOBUS deployers, SatNOGS-COMMS, PHASMA bus components, and SIDLOC flight units. Payments processed via Stripe.
3. EU Research Grants (Horizon Europe): LSF receives EU research funding through collaborative grants. The REWIRE project (Grant Agreement No. 101070627, Oct 2022 – Sep 2025) is funded by the European Commission under Horizon Europe Programme, covering LSF's work on the Smart Satellites Use Case including flat-sat development.
4. Protocol Labs IPFS Development Funding: The development of IPFS-tiny is funded by Protocol Labs, demonstrating grant-like funding from an external organization to support LSF's open-source protocol development work.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Libre Space Foundation develops and maintains an open-source technology stack for space, including the SatNOGS global satellite ground station network, PocketQube satellites (QUBIK), satellite deployers (PICOBUS), space-based spectrum monitoring missions (PHASMA), spacecraft identification systems (SIDLOC), communications subsystems (SatNOGS-COMMS), and space-adapted data protocols (IPFS-tiny). All hardware schematics, PCB layouts, mechanical CAD, software source code, and documentation are published as public commons under CERN-OHL-S v2, GPL-3.0, and CC BY-SA 4.0 licenses.

Product overview

Libre Space Foundation operates as a non-profit foundation creating open-source technologies for space, from ground stations to satellites. The portfolio consists of SatNOGS as the core ground segment infrastructure (a global network of 500+ ground stations), complemented by space missions including PHASMA (spectrum monitoring satellites) and SIDLOC (spacecraft identification and localization). Hardware products include PICOBUS (PocketQube deployer), SatNOGS-COMMS (communications subsystem), and SatNOGS Rotators. Software offerings include IPFS-tiny for space-based file systems. The foundation's satellite projects include the QUBIK PocketQube series. All products are developed openly with source code, hardware designs, and documentation released under open-source licenses (GPL-3.0, CERN-OHL-S v2, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SatNOGS: Global network of satellite ground stations — the largest open-source ground station network with 400+ stations across 54+ countries.
• PHASMA
• SIDLOC
• QUBIK
• PICOBUS

Products and services

• SatNOGS Global network of open-source satellite ground stations providing worldwide satellite tracking, telemetry reception, and observation infrastructure. Features 500+ ground stations across 54+ countries, 322 stations online, 2 operational satellites supported, and 15M+ observations recorded since 2014 by 2,400+ contributors.
• PHASMA Mission Space-based spectrum monitoring mission featuring PHASMA-DIRAC and PHASMA-LAMARR CubeSats currently operational in orbit at 498-508 km altitude, conducting real-time in-orbit spectrum monitoring for space situational awareness applications.
• SIDLOC Spacecraft Identification and Localization system using broad-spectrum beacons received by the SatNOGS network. Aims to establish a proposed standard for identification and localization of satellites and spacecraft.
• PICOBUS PocketQube Deployer The first-ever open-source PocketQube deployer designed and built by LSF for deploying 5cm PocketQube satellites, enabling smaller organizations to deploy satellites into orbit.
• QUBIK PocketQube Satellites Series of PocketQube satellites (QUBIK-3 and QUBIK-4) designed for satellite identification and tracking experiments using amateur radio frequencies, built entirely with open-source hardware and software.
• IPFS-tiny Lightweight adaptation of the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) designed for limited-resource devices such as satellites and spacecraft. Built in C++, enabling decentralized, resilient data storage and access in space environments via SatNOGS Network bridges.
• SatNOGS-COMMS Open-source communications subsystem developed in-house by LSF for satellite operations, part of the flat-sat engineering model for the REWIRE Smart Satellites Use Case.
• SatNOGS Rotators Open-source satellite antenna rotator hardware for ground stations, enabling precise tracking of satellite positions across the sky, available in v3.1 and other versions with various motor configurations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ open-source ground stations across 54+ countries operated by a global volunteer community
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, notable and minor.

• Protocol LabscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 April 2023Protocol Labs funds the development of IPFS-tiny, LSF's adaptation of the InterPlanetary File System for space and resource-limited devices. IPFS-tiny is designed to enable decentralized, resilient data storage and access in space environments via SatNOGS Network bridges. The project aims to bring IPFS and its distributed, tamper-resistant data architecture to satellites and spacecraft.
• European Commission (Horizon Europe / REWIRE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2022LSF participates in the REWIRE Research and Innovation Action funded by the European Commission under Horizon Europe Programme (Grant Agreement No. 101070627, Oct 2022 – Sep 2025). REWIRE develops a holistic framework for continuous security assessment of open-source and open-specification hardware and software for IoT devices, including satellites. LSF leads the Smart Satellites Use Case pilot, specifying, designing, and deploying a flat-sat engineering model featuring RISC-V-based Onboard Processor, COTS Onboard Data Handling Unit, LSF COMMS Subsystem, and Ground Segment simulator.
• Firefly AerospacenotableStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2022Firefly Aerospace provided the launch opportunity for LSF's QUBIK mission (QUBIK-3 and QUBIK-4 PocketQubes) aboard Firefly Alpha Flight 2 (#ToTheBlack) launched October 1, 2022 from Vandenberg Space Force Base. LSF expressed deep gratitude for this opportunity, which marked LSF's return to space.
• AMSAT-EA (AMSAT España)notableStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 December 2021AMSAT-EA's GENESIS-G and GENESIS-J satellites were co-integrated into LSF's PICOBUS deployer alongside QUBIK-3 and QUBIK-4 at the Polytechnic University of Catalunya facilities in December 2021. This demonstrated collaborative deployment using the open-source PICOBUS PocketQube deployer.
• FOSSA SystemsnotableStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 December 2021FOSSA Systems' FOSSASAT-1B was co-integrated into LSF's PICOBUS deployer alongside QUBIK-3 and QUBIK-4, demonstrating the deployer's ability to host multiple organizations' PocketQubes in a single launch.
• Polytechnic University of Catalunya (UPC)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2021LSF engineers traveled to Spain in December 2021 to conduct vibration testing of the PICOBUS deployer at UPC's facilities. This was part of the pre-launch qualification process for the QUBIK mission.
• European Space Agency (ESA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerESA's Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP) runs experiments on the OPS-SAT CubeSat mission. LSF's technologies are referenced in the context of ESA's broader small satellite ecosystem. Additionally, ESA's Greek IOD/IOV CubeSat initiative supported and managed the PHASMA mission (2023). ESA's involvement validates LSF's technology within the European space program.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• GomSpace: Commercial CubeSat and small satellite subsystem manufacturer serving institutional and commercial customers. Comparable as a small-satellite hardware provider, but as a publicly-listed commercial vendor it represents the proprietary incumbent alternative to LSF's open-source stack.
• AWS Ground Station: Amazon's cloud-integrated satellite ground station service with global antenna locations and direct integration into AWS for data downlink. Represents the hyperscaler-backed ground station alternative competing for the same downstream mission data customers LSF serves via SatNOGS.
• KSAT (Kongsberg Satellite Services): Norway-based global ground station services operator with the world's largest commercial ground station network. Comparable as a large-scale ground station operator serving institutional, government, and commercial satellite operators — represents the incumbent alternative SatNOGS competes with on coverage and SLA.
• NanoAvionics: Commercial small satellite bus manufacturer and mission integrator offering standardized satellite platforms. Comparable as a small-satellite mission services provider competing for the same CubeSat mission budget pool, but operating as a scaled commercial vendor rather than non-profit.

Direct peers

• Atlas Space Operations: US-based ground-station-as-a-service company offering commercial satellite communications and ground segment services. Directly comparable as a ground-station network operator serving small-satellite and commercial constellations.
• RBC Signals: US-based provider of global satellite ground station services with a federated antenna network similar to SatNOGS in concept. Directly comparable as a peer operating distributed ground station infrastructure for satellite operators, with commercial SLAs.
• Open Cosmos: UK-based small-satellite platform operator offering end-to-end mission services (design, build, launch, operations). Directly comparable as a similarly-sized small-satellite mission operator with mission-as-a-service positioning that competes for the same grant and agency funding pool as LSF.
• Leaf Space: Italy-based ground-station-as-a-service provider operating a global network of satellite ground stations for LEO/MEO operators. The closest direct commercial analog to SatNOGS — same problem space (satellite ground segment infrastructure) addressed via a paid model rather than community.
• Open Lunar Foundation: Non-profit organization funding and coordinating open, collaborative lunar and space technology. The closest structural peer — also a foundation-backed open-source space initiative — though focused on policy/cislunar rather than ground/satellite hardware.

Emerging players

• FOSSA Systems: Spain-based PocketQube and small-satellite IoT operator — a direct PocketQube mission peer that co-integrated FOSSASAT-1B on LSF's PICOBUS deployer. Comparable as an emerging open-source-leaning PocketQube operator with shared launch heritage on the QUBIK mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/librespace_fnd
• GitHubgitlab.com/librespacefoundation
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/LibreSpaceFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/librespacefoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/libre.space

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Libre Space Foundation