WASHINGTON — The European Commission and European Space Agency signed contracts with an industrial consortium Dec. 16 to develop a secure connectivity constellation with a total cost of 10.6 billion euros ($11.1 billion).
In a ceremony in Brussels, officials from the European Commission and ESA, along with the chief executives of Eutelsat, Hispasat and SES, signed contracts to develop the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²) constellation of more than 290 satellites slated to enter service by early 2031.
IRIS² will provide secure communications for European governments for security and civil applications. It will also provide commercial satellite services, such as residential broadband.
At the signing ceremony, Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defence and Space for the European Union, emphasized the need for Europe to have its own constellation. “We are under threat. Our communications are under threat,” he said, citing examples of undersea cables being cut and navigation signals jammed by Russia. “IRIS² will give us the ability to connect even in a hostile environment.”
“We cannot afford to be too dependent on countries or companies from outside the European Union,” he added later in his remarks.
The constellation also supports Europe’s space industry in a time when some key companies are struggling to compete globally. “We are increasing the resilience and autonomy of the Union and its states while also strengthening the satellite communications capabilities and boosting the competitiveness of the European space industry,” said Josef Aschabacher, director general of ESA, said at the ceremony.
Under the contracts, the EU will contribute six billion euros to IRIS², of which two billion was funded in the current multiannual financial framework (MFF) that runs through 2027. The other four billion euros of EU’s contribution will come in later MFF agreements through the 12-year IRIS² contracts that extend to 2036.
ESA is providing 550 million euros that was allocated at its 2022 ministerial conference. The SpaceRISE consortium, led by Eutelsat, Hispasat and SES, will contribute 4.1 billion euros. An official said in a background briefing that each SpaceRISE partner is contributing a minimum of 500 million euros.
That funding will go towards the development and launch of satellites in three orbits. Eighteen satellites will operate in medium Earth orbit (MEO) at an altitude of 8,000 kilometers, providing Ka-band services. A “LEO High” shell at about 1,200 kilometers will include 264 satellites with Ku- and Ka-band services. The system will also include 10 or more satellites in a “LEO Low” shell between 400 and 750 kilometers intended to support incubation of future technologies.
The IRIS² constellation will interoperate with Govsatcom, an EU program to provide communications services using geostationary satellites operated by member states. Officials said Govsatcom will begin initial services in 2025 using excess capacity on more than 10 GEO satellites from five member states.
The MEO shell of satellites could be augmented by additional commercial satellites by SES, whose O3b system operates in similar orbits, while Eutelsat could add satellites to the LEO High shell. However, the current Eutelsat OneWeb constellation will not be included in IRIS².
The next step for IRIS² is a one-year design phase that will also include “consolidation” of the supply chain of contractors for the satellites. A critical design review is planned for early 2028, with launch of the satellites projected to take place in 2029 and 2030. The constellation will require 13 Ariane 64 launches, 10 for the LEO High shell and 3 for the MEO shell. The handful of LEO Low satellites could be launched on other vehicles through the upcoming European Launcher Challenge.
The constellation now under development is a far cry from earlier proposals that projected a total cost of six billion euros and beginning of services in 2027. “We have no time to lose. We are already late, my friends,” said Timo Pesonen, director general of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space, at the signing ceremony.
“Let’s agree now: no delays, no requests for extra funding,” he said, to laughter from the audience.
