Super-lightweight, low-cost, rapid-delivery high-resolution orbital telescope for Earth observation on small and nanosatellites.
SLIMOp Orbital Telescope
Super-lightweight, low-cost, rapid-delivery high-resolution orbital telescope for Earth observation on small and nanosatellites.
Description
SLIMOp Space's Orbital Telescope is a compact, super-lightweight high-resolution imaging payload designed specifically for small satellites and nanosatellites (CubeSat-class platforms). It targets a core problem in the fast-growing Earth Observation (EO) market: conventional space telescope optics are heavy, expensive, and slow to manufacture, which limits how quickly operators can build and scale large EO constellations.
SLIMOp's disruptive optical and structural design reduces mass and manufacturing cost and delivery time compared to traditional space telescope approaches, while aiming to preserve high-resolution imaging performance suitable for Earth observation applications. The lightweight design is intended to let satellite integrators fit high-resolution imaging capability onto small and nanosatellite buses that could not previously accommodate conventional telescope optics, supporting the rapid, scalable expansion of EO satellite constellations to meet growing global demand for imagery data.
SLIMOp Space is also developing complementary laser communications payload technology, extending its optical engineering expertise from imaging into high-bandwidth inter-satellite and satellite-to-ground optical links.
The technology has been developed with backing from ESA (through the ESA Business Incubation Centre Barcelona and the ESA Commercialisation Gateway programme), IEEC, and Catalan innovation agencies including ACCIO and Barcelona Activa. SLIMOp Space received Spain's 2026 National Industry Award ("Well Made in Spain") in recognition of its space telescope optics work.
As of mid-2026 the company is in the technology development and industrialization stage; detailed public performance specifications (resolution, aperture, mass) and a named product line with datasheets have not yet been published.
Specifications
| Application | Earth observation imaging and laser communications payloads for small satellites and nanosatellites |
|---|---|
| Key differentiators | Super-lightweight optics, low manufacturing cost, rapid delivery vs. conventional space telescopes |
| Target platforms | Small satellites and CubeSat-class nanosatellites |
| TRL | Technology development / industrialization stage (pre-commercial as of 2026) |