FOX (Facility for Operations Experimentation) key visual

The Facility for Operations Experimentation (FOX), based at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, is an initiative designed to support operational experimentation, technology validation, in-orbit demonstration/validation (IOD/IOV), qualification activities, end-to-end operational assessment and experimentation support for both traditional and New Space missions.

At its core, FOX is a flexible environment for operational experimentation powered by Estrack, ESA’s global ground station network, which provides spacecraft tracking, telemetry and communications services across the world. Through Estrack, FOX experimentation activities can access the same global communications infrastructure that supports ESA missions in orbit and across the Solar System.

Originally established as the Special Mission Infrastructure Laboratory Environment (Smile), FOX builds on years of experience supporting mission experimentation, validation activities and operational innovation at ESOC.