SpaceRISE to make €6bn IRIS² broadband 5G satellites
Cette publication existe aussi en Français
The SpaceRISE consortium is to make and operate the €6bn constellation of IRIS² broadband 5G satellites for the European Commission.
The consortium brings together manufacturers Airbus Defence and Space, OHB, Telespazio, Thales and Thales Alenia Space (TAS) alongside European satellite operators Eutelsat, Hispasat and SES. It also includes telecoms operators Orange in France and Deutsche Telekom in Germany.
The IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) constellation of 290 satellites. These will be in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Low Earth (LEO) to provide a secure, resilient, low latency communications infrastructure for Europe. This is the third flagship space programme from the EU, which is expecting the satellites in orbit by 2030.
However the consortium says the satellites will be operational in the early 2030s says the consortium to provide 5G broadband services for governments, the transport sector (maritime, railway, aviation and automotive), smart energy grid management, banking, oversea industrial activities, remote healthcare and rural connectivity (back-hauling) as well as mass-market mobile and fixed broadband satellite access.
The consortium is in the final phase of the procurement process leading to contract signature expected by the end of the year. The contract is estimated to be between €6 and €12 billion over 12 years, with €2.4bn from the EU from 2022 to 2027. The SpaceRISE consortium is expected to contribute a combined €4 billion over the life of the contract.
“The IRIS² 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 Eva Berneke, Chief Executive Officer of Eutelsat. “We are proud to support the EU on this project alongside the consortium partners to deliver a resilient, future-ready communication system that meets Europe’s most critical connectivity needs, while generating value-creation for Eutelsat and its stakeholders by complementing and enhancing our existing LEO capabilities.”
Miguel Ángel Panduro, Chief Executive Officer of Hispasat added: “We are firmly committed to everything that IRIS² represents: a sovereign secure communications system, supported by European innovative developments and driven by public-private partnership. It is an ambitious project, in which the companies of the SpaceRISE consortium are working to offer the best response to the demands of the European Union. This award is an exciting first step of a project that will define the future of satellite communications in Europe.”
Adel Al-Saleh, Chief Executive Officer of SES said: “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. The IRIS² 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.”
defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-space/iris2-secure-connectivity_en
If you enjoyed this article, you will like the following ones: don't miss them by subscribing to :
