CGI says it has supported the UK Ministry of Defence and the UK Space Agency to achieve Initial Operating Capability (IOC) for BOREALIS, six months ahead of schedule.
BOREALIS is intended to strengthen the UK’s ability to protect its interests in space by providing enhanced Space Domain Awareness (SDA) and a Space Command and Control (C2) capability at the core of the National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC).
CGI said the system is designed to support international collaboration and provide what it describes as a sovereign SDA capability, aimed at enhancing resilience and enabling independent decision-making.
Luke Pollard MP, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, said: “Space is now a contested domain. Protecting our satellites from adversaries keeps our economy moving and keeps us all safe. As we increase defence spending we are investing in new defensive capabilities in all domains, including UK space-based capabilities.”
Space Minister Liz Lloyd MP said: “BOREALIS represents a significant step forward in the UK’s ability to monitor, protect and defend the critical space capabilities. This joint investment by the UK Space Agency and Space Command, backed by British expertise and jobs, ensures the UK remains a world leader in understanding and protecting the space environment for generations to come.”
Major General Paul Tedman, Commander of UK Space Command, said: “Protecting and defending the invisible front line in space requires us to see and understand what is happening in orbit and then make decisions at machine speed. Noctis-1, with Noctis-2 swiftly to follow, will provide us the sovereign eyes we need to augment our space domain awareness. Data is the coin of the realm in space operations. BOREALIS exploits edge software to make sense of the vast amounts of information we ingest and then model actionable choices to my operators in the National Space Operations Centre. Together, they represent a significant enhancement to the UK’s space capability.”
Neil Timms, Senior Vice President of Space, Defence & Intelligence UK & Australia at CGI said: “Delivering BOREALIS to operational readiness half a year early highlights CGI’s track record in delivering complex, secure space systems. By combining deep domain expertise with modern engineering practices, we’ve provided a scalable capability that can adapt as mission demands and the threat landscape continue to evolve.”
According to CGI, the declaration of IOC includes increased automation, new and improved visualisation tools, integration of additional data sources and more accurate orbit determination for operational users.
CGI said the IOC milestone required a support solution, a full training programme, and completion of an accreditation and assurance process. The company also said it has put in place a capability assessment process to accelerate the integration of tools and technology.
CGI said the system has been delivered by a team of more than 100 engineers drawn from across the UK space ecosystem, including small and medium-sized enterprises, using an Agile delivery approach. It said deployment is on the Ministry of Defence cloud environment to support scaling as operational demands change.
In an accompanying note to media, CGI linked the milestone to the UK’s focus on space as critical national infrastructure and pointed to the Strategic Defence Review identifying space domain awareness and command and control as priority areas for investment.
