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European Commission begins building multi-orbit satcoms network
A consortium of satellite network owners has been tasked with building Europe’s IRIS multi-orbit satellite constellation for fast connectivity, communications resilience and digital sovereignty
The European Commission has contracted Space Consortium for a Resilient, Interconnected and Secure Europe (SpaceRISE) to design, build and operate the IRIS multi-orbit satellite constellation.
The IRIS programme is a public private partnership funded by the European Union, European Space Agency and private finance from the three satellite operators within the SpaceRISE consortium – Eutelsat, Hispasat and SES.
This constellation will provide secure, resilient, autonomous communications infrastructure for Europe, enabling the union and member states to respond to crises and protect essential infrastructure.
The European Commission expects IRIS to be full operationally in Q1 2030. The consortium has started the final phase of the procurement process and expects to sign contracts by the end of this year.
SpaceRISE comprises Europe’s key space and telecom companies including Airbus Defence and Space, Deutsche Telekom, Eutelsat, Hisdesat, Hispasat, OHB, Orange, SES, Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space and Thales.
The three satellite owners already operate geostationary, medium-Earth orbit (MEO), low-Earth orbit (LEO) and highly elliptical orbit satellites which provide connectivity to maritime and other sectors.
The IRIS network is expected to be an intergrated combination of all of these orbiting satellites to offer global coverage, including over oceans, seas and inland waterways.
“SpaceRISE, based on the European Union’s requirements, will define and develop a future-proof space network that will serve as the cornerstone of Europe’s space and defence strategies in the years to come,” said SES chief executive Adel Al-Saleh.
“The IRIS system is aligned with SES’s multi-orbit network and underscores our commitment to advancing our MEO capabilities, as well as having access to LEO orbit.”
SES operates the O3b Power MEO network as well as its own constellation of geostationary satellites, while Eutelsat gained access to LEO satellites through its acquisition this year of OneWeb.
“The IRIS programme is a powerful extension of Eutelsat’s commitment to advancing Europe’s digital sovereignty through sustained investment in multi-orbit technology to deliver multi-layered, low-latency networks, which are essential to Europe’s strategic resilience,” said Eutelsat chief executive Eva Berneke.
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