Navcam moves towards flight demonstration

Vimotek has received support from the Swedish National Space Agency, Rymdstyrelsen, for the development of a space-ready prototype of Navcam, Vimotek’s onboard perception system for precise proximity operations.

The project, NavCam-1 Proto Flight Model for Demonstration in Space, will build, test and qualify a flight model intended for demonstration in orbit in 2027 together with Vimotek’s partners. Rymdstyrelsen has awarded the project SEK 13.5 million under Sweden’s programme for dual-use space technology.

For Vimotek, the project represents an important step in moving onboard perception technology towards use in operational spacecraft encounters.

From development towards flight

Future rendezvous and proximity operations depend on spacecraft being able to understand other objects around them with sufficient precision and reliability.

That requirement spans missions such as rendezvous, inspection, servicing, docking and robotics — situations where another spacecraft is not simply nearby, but becomes part of the mission itself.

Navcam is being developed to provide onboard perception for these encounters, supporting target acquisition, tracking, characterisation and relative state estimation.

The NavCam-1 project moves that capability towards flight by focusing on the development, testing and qualification of a space-ready prototype.

Preparing for demonstration in orbit

Rymdstyrelsen describes the project as developing a compact perception solution that allows spacecraft to detect and understand other objects in space, with a flight demonstration planned for 2027.

An in-orbit demonstration provides a critical bridge between development on the ground and future operational missions.

It allows sensing and perception technology to be exercised in the environment where it ultimately has to perform, helping reduce integration and mission risk while building confidence for subsequent applications.

For Vimotek, the objective is not simply to put hardware in orbit. It is to demonstrate a capability that can support precise and repeatable proximity operations around real spacecraft.

Dual-use capability for future space operations

The project is supported through Rymdstyrelsen’s programme for space technology with dual-use applications.

That is particularly relevant to spacecraft encounters.

Reliable onboard perception can support commercial missions such as inspection, servicing and logistics, while the same underlying ability to understand nearby objects can contribute to mission assurance and the resilience of high-value space assets.

For Vimotek, developing this capability in Sweden strengthens a broader European need for trusted technology around increasingly complex operations in orbit.

Building towards operational proximity missions

The NavCam-1 project builds on Vimotek’s ongoing work in sensing and perception for spacecraft encounters and advances the technology towards a planned in-orbit demonstration.

As proximity operations become more important to in-orbit servicing, logistics, inspection and robotics, the ability to perceive and characterise another spacecraft reliably becomes a key enabling capability.

With Navcam, Vimotek’s objective is to provide that perception onboard — helping operators make planned spacecraft encounters more precise, predictable and effective.

The 2027 demonstration is intended to bring that capability one step closer to operational missions.