Eutelsat's US subsidiary is in active talks with defense and intelligence agencies to host government payloads on OneWeb's next-generation satellites. Eutelsat Network Solutions — Eutelsat's US proxy company — previously focused on selling bandwidth from Eutelsat's geostationary satellites and the OneWeb constellation. It now offers integration of government sensors and other targeted payloads on commercial spacecraft.
The new initiative is related to the planned upgrade of the OneWeb constellation. The company ordered from Airbus Defense and Space 440 satellites to replace old devices, launched in the period of 2019 by 2023 year. Deliveries will begin at the end 2026 year, and launches are at the beginning 2027 year. President and Chief Executive Officer of Eutelsat Network Solutions Ian Canning said, that it makes it possible to place a payload on board, which may be created specifically for the US government, and actually include it in the general launch schedule.
For reference: Airbus Defense and Space is one of the three main divisions of the European corporation Airbus Group, specializing in defense and aerospace products. It is the second largest space company in the world and the leader in Europe, which manufactures military aircraft, satellites, missile systems and means of cyber security.
Canning noted, that several agencies are evaluating the possibility of placing payloads on satellites, such as image sensors or situational awareness sensors in space. The idea of launching government payloads on commercial satellites is not new. The US Air Force studied this concept in the 1990s and 2000s, but faced difficulties in aligning commercial satellite production schedules with government procurement cycles, as well as in risk sharing between operators and the military. Eutelsat is trying to solve these problems, pre-configuring its satellites with spare capacity to host the payload. Under this model, the government will manage and control its own payload, while Eutelsat will provide the spacecraft and data link.
Eutelsat Network Solutions does not plan to change the launch schedule to wait for the payload to be ready - capacity will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, the first one is served". The push into the payload segment comes amid increased competition from Eutelsat in the LEO broadband market, with SpaceX's Starlink leading the way, and soon Amazon will appear.
Source: https://spacenews.com