On July 18, York Space Systems announced that its parent company has agreed to acquire ATLAS Space Operations, a pioneer in Ground Software as a Service (GSaaS) for satellite communications. The move brings York a powerful, software-led ground architecture that simplifies operations, removes integration barriers, and enhances space-to-ground resilience—accelerating York’s ability to deliver secure, mission-ready space systems at unmatched speed and value.
ATLAS will play a key role in York’s Golden Dome architecture, a next-generation defense solution that unifies spacecraft, software, and ground operations to deliver full-spectrum capabilities across contested environments. ATLAS will continue to operate independently under its existing brand, serving its diverse portfolio of customers across the space industry.
Founded in 2015, ATLAS delivers secure, cloud-native connectivity through its Freedom software platform, which provides a single API access point to a global network of more than 50 antennas in 20+ countries and is the only GSaaS provider based in the United States. By shifting the complexity of satellite communications from hardware to software, ATLAS has built a federated network-of-networks that enables real-time tasking, automated scheduling, and seamless cloud delivery of mission data. The result is a flexible, scalable solution that reduces cost, risk, and time to orbit for a growing roster of government and commercial customers.
“ATLAS has built one of the most sophisticated and secure ground communications platforms in the industry,” said Dirk Wallinger, CEO of York. “This acquisition will enhance York’s ability to deliver mission-ready systems on the timelines our customers demand while continuing to support the broader space ecosystem with best-in-class ground solutions.”
The Freedom platform simplifies ground operations through a single API that abstracts away the complexities of legacy ground station networks. Whether operating a single satellite or a proliferated constellation, customers can onboard faster, stream data directly to the cloud, and flexibly access global infrastructure without building it themselves.
“York shares our vision for a future where space systems are faster, smarter, and seamlessly integrated,” said Corey Geer, CEO of ATLAS. “Together, we are building the infrastructure to meet that future head-on, reducing risk, increasing resilience, and enabling critical data delivery on demand.”
This acquisition will strengthen York’s ability to deliver integrated, mission-ready systems by pairing its high-performance spacecraft and software-defined operations with ATLAS’s proven ground communications platform. It will enhance end-to-end mission delivery, and accelerating deployment timelines, improving data flow from space to ground, and enabling more resilient, autonomous operations across both commercial and national security missions, according to the company.
Source: York
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