IRIS2 satellite constellation

Two years ago, the European Union agreed to promote its own satellite constellation to achieve strategic satellite broadband capabilities. IRIS2 will be to Starlink what Galileo is to GPS. Now this goal is close to becoming a reality. Finally, the winner of the competition to build a megaconstellation has emerged – the Spanish team.

Winning bid. The European Commission has awarded the construction of IRIS² (Square IRIS) to SpaceRISE, a consortium of aerospace companies led by the Spanish companies SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat. The contract is a 12-year concession, which the Commission hopes to sign before the end of 2024.

In addition to the three consortium members, the project has several European subcontractors: Thales Alenia Space, OHB, Airbus Defense and Space, Telespazio, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Hisdesat and Thales SIX.

6 billion euros. IRIS2 is an acronym for Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnection and Satellite Security. This is the European Union’s response to the megasatellite constellations of the United States and China.

The European Commission expects the new satellite network to be operational in 2030. The estimated cost of the project will be 6 billion euros, of which the Commission will contribute 60% and the private sector the remaining 40%. However, analysts are already suggesting a price close to 10 billion.

What is IRIS2 for? The satellites will aim to provide “sovereign, secure and resilient” communications services across Europe. The constellation (very modest compared to its Chinese and American counterparts) will have more than 290 individual satellites in different orbits, as well as the entire ground infrastructure of stations and antennas.

While the system will initially serve government users in EU member states, it will later be able to offer commercial services that will allow private companies to recoup their investments.

Differences from Starlink. The main difference between IRIS2 and Starlink and its government version, Starshield, is its orbital configuration. The European project will combine low earth orbit (LEO), medium orbit (MEO) and geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites to achieve full coverage with fewer satellites, sacrificing the lower latency that low earth orbit satellites provide.

Another factor is the planned number of satellites: up to 30,000 in the case of SpaceX, which launches its satellites using its own rockets. In China, Guowang has begun construction of a government-funded megaconstellation of 13,000 satellites. Amazon is also developing its own Kuiper constellation, with permission to launch 3,200 satellites into Earth orbit.

Some requirements. As part of their environmental provisions, MEPs have sought to strengthen IRIS2’s sustainability requirements to offset associated emissions, prevent the spread of space debris and minimize light pollution.

The brightness of satellite constellations is an issue of particular concern to astronomers, whose observations are increasingly affected by the passage of the more than 6,000 Starlink satellites currently in orbit.

Image | SpaceRISE

In Hatak | SpaceX has requested permission to place Starlink satellites at a lower altitude. This is the previous step towards offering 1 Gbps connections.