The European Commission and the SpaceRISE consortium, under an agreement signed on August 7, added 66 new satellites to the IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) constellation, bringing the total to 348. With the completion of negotiations that began in January under the name “Rendezvous 1,” the project is moving from the planning phase into full-scale deployment, with the first launches targeted to begin by 2029. The program’s total budget has also risen to €15.6 billion with this expansion — well above the €10.6 billion figure envisaged in the initial December 2024 contract.
The negotiations settled key parameters for the IRIS² satellite system, including its design, capacity, deployment schedule, target pricing, and the investment share of private operators. The expanded architecture consists of 330 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites and 18 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites. The 66 satellites added in response to the shifting security environment will form a dedicated layer strengthening capacity for defense, security, and emergency services. The European Commission states that this expansion will increase Europe’s secure satellite connectivity capacity by 60% within the EU and by 54% globally.
Industry Commits to Delivering IRIS²
The project is being carried out under the “Team Europe” approach, with the European Commission, member states, the European Space Agency (ESA), the EU Agency for the Space Programme, and European industry all working together. The SpaceRISE consortium — made up of SES, Eutelsat, and Hispasat — is taking on a total of €4 billion in private-sector investment. Within this, Eutelsat’s commitment of €3.39 billion, as it leads the LEO segment, and Hispasat’s contribution of over €1.6 billion for the ground infrastructure segment stand out. Manufacturers such as Airbus Defence and Space, Thales Alenia Space, OHB, and Aerospacelab are also part of these commitments.
The increased budget requirement will be met through EU budget-period funds for 2028–2034 along with member state investments. Poland has pledged €656 million and Hungary €500 million, while Spain’s investment is expected to fall between €1.6 and €2 billion. With 348 satellites, IRIS² will serve not only EU member states but also authorized users in Norway and Iceland.
Having become a legally binding project through the 12-year concession contract signed with SpaceRISE in December 2024, the IRIS² satellite constellation is now moving forward with this new agreement into the stages of satellite production, launch service procurement, and the development of secure ground infrastructure.
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Source: C4Defence- SpaceNews-European Commission
