EU grants Hispasat consortium IRIS² satellite system, 6 billion project | Companies

The European Commission has awarded the SpaceRISE consortium the right to design, build and operate multi-orbit communications via the next generation of satellites known as IRIS² (which stands for Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnection and Security via Satellite). The SpaceRISE consortium is led by satellite operators Eutelsat, Spain’s Hispasat and SES, but some of the main European players in space and telecommunications will also be included as subcontractors (Thales Alenia Space, OHB, Airbus Defense and Space, Telespazio, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Hisdesat and Thales SIX).

The primary goal of IRIS² is to provide member states with guaranteed access to highly secure, sovereign and global communications services that meet their operational needs, such as critical infrastructure protection, surveillance and support for external action or command and control, and military operations. applications. The security of these communications will be based on advanced encryption technologies such as quantum cryptography.

The IRIS² project, which includes a network of 290 multi-orbital satellites, is the successor to the Galileo (satellite positioning) and Copernicus (climate monitoring) programs. The project guarantees its strategic autonomy and will allow the European aerospace industry to increase its level of innovation and be at the forefront of space technology. This is a strategic policy of the Union, which will thus be able to counter other similar private initiatives. In particular, IRIS² will have to compete with two macro projects already underway: Starlink, a satellite communications network developed by SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket and spacecraft company; and Kuiper, a satellite constellation funded by Amazon.

The estimated cost of IRIS² is 6 billion euros, of which only 2.4 billion will come from the EU budget and 750 million from the European Space Agency; the rest must come from the private sector. Following the award of a contract for a 12-year concession period, the project enters its final phase, with contract signing scheduled for December 20 and commissioning in 2030, the European Commission said. The contract was due to be signed in early 2024, but negotiations have stalled, largely due to German reluctance, which felt the tender was “poorly designed” and excluded small companies, especially German ones.

As Miguel Angel Panduro, CEO of Hispasat, noted in a recent interview with EL PAÍS, IRIS² will be a revolution in European communications and security, and the fact that the Spanish company has received the contract will further increase its attractiveness to investors.

Secure connection

According to the bidding rules announced in March 2023, the main goal of IRIS² is to provide the 27 EU member states with “guaranteed access to highly secure, sovereign and global communications services.” These include “critical infrastructure protection, surveillance and support for external action or crisis management, and military applications.” It also aims to address the lack of connectivity in areas of Europe without broadband. It is expected to be operational in the early 2030s. Unlike its US competitors such as Kuiper, the Iris² project is a multi-orbit constellation that will combine the advantages offered by low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, geostationary earth (GEO) and midsize satellites. orbit (MEO).

One of the outstanding elements of this project is the public-private collaboration. The Commission took lessons from previous projects (Copernicus and Galileo) and proposed it through public-private cooperation to guarantee financial returns and subsequent development of its aerospace industry. In addition, it was created with the aim of activating the SME ecosystem and the so-called NewSpace to collaborate with large European consortium companies in the development of innovative technologies that provide a differentiating element and added value to the European sector.

Regarding the European Union’s contribution, since the duration of the concession agreement covers several financial perspectives, the European Commission will first make budgetary commitments for the current multiannual financial framework. Additional amounts may be made available after 31 December 2027, provided that the European Parliament and the Council adopt a successor program and corresponding appropriations are available. “The current geopolitical context demonstrates how important sovereign and secure satellite communications services are in times of crisis. This ambition can only be achieved by combining the driving force of the public sector with the technical know-how of the private sector,” the Commission notes.

IRIS² will support a wide range of applications, mainly in the areas of surveillance (eg border control), crisis management (humanitarian missions), and connecting and protecting key infrastructure (secure communications for EU embassies). The system will also support mass market applications, including mobile and fixed satellite Internet access, satellite trunking for B2B services, satellite access for transport services, satellite communications and cloud services aggregation.

American rivals

Although European authorities have avoided mentioning any other competing projects, there is no doubt that IRIS² is a European alternative to the two satellite projects of the American tech giants. The most advanced is Starlink, a satellite internet project by Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, which aims to provide global coverage anywhere on the planet by deploying up to 12,000 satellites. This is not a charity project. Users, whether businesses, homes or organizations, receive a kit to install the antenna at home and pay a monthly fee.

Another alternative is Project Kuiper, Amazon’s initiative to provide fast and affordable Internet to communities around the world that currently lack traditional Internet and communications services. His potential clients include schools, hospitals, businesses, government agencies and other organizations operating in areas without reliable communications. To achieve this goal, Amazon plans to deploy a constellation of more than 3,200 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites connected to a global network of antennas, fiber optics and Internet connection points on the ground.