7 August 2026 The European Commission concluded negotiations with the SpaceRISE consortium (SES - Luxembourg, Eutelsat - France, Hispasat - Spain) щодо реалізації сузір’я безпечного зв’язку IRIS² (Rendezvous 1).
For reference: IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) is a new sovereign multi-orbital satellite communication system of the European Union. The project is the European strategic response to the American Starlink network (SpaceX) and British OneWeb. The main goal of IRIS² is to ensure a fully independent Europe, secure and high-speed satellite Internet.
The IRIS² grouping has been increased by 66 satellites, resulting in a total of at least 348 (18 at the mean level of low Earth orbit and 330 at the upper level of low Earth orbit). This will increase the capacity of secure government services by 60 % within the EU and on 54 % outside of it.
The estimated cost of the project has increased to 15,6 billions of euros (on 47 % more comparatively
with preliminary assessment 10,6 billions of euros). The SpaceRISE consortium is funding 4 billions of euros, The European Commission and the European Space Agency — 11,6 billions of euros. Additional funding is expected from the multiannual financial framework for 2028-2034 and contributions from EU member states.
Launches of satellites are planned to begin in 2029 year.
Source: https://spacenews.com