At the recent International Space Summit in Paris, several European nations reaffirmed their support for the Iris² satellite constellation—a project aimed at establishing European autonomy in space communications. The initiative seeks to provide secure communication services, thereby reducing Europe’s reliance on foreign systems like SpaceX’s Starlink, with the first launch missions scheduled for 2029.
France hosted the inaugural International Space Summit last week, bringing together national leaders, ministers, astronauts, space agencies, and representatives from the aerospace industry; approximately 120 foreign delegations were invited to attend.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed a desire for Europe to strengthen its capabilities in the space sector and develop its own human spaceflight capacity. He also called for the “shared governance” of space and advocated for a “Europe-first” policy within the sector.
According to Le Monde, a key focus of the summit was bolstering the Iris² satellite constellation project, a joint initiative by France and the European Union. The project aims to build an autonomous European constellation through public-private partnerships, deploying at least 348 satellites to provide secure, reliable communications without relying on non-European entities such as SpaceX’s Starlink system.
Of the 348 satellites, 330 will operate in low Earth orbit (LEO) at an altitude of approximately 1,200 kilometers, with 66 of them utilizing Ka-band frequencies dedicated to sensitive communications. The constellation will provide secure communication services for government agencies—covering areas such as civil protection, emergency management, defense, and security—while also offering commercial services to businesses.
The scale of this constellation will be significantly smaller than that of the Starlink system, which comprises tens of thousands of satellites.
Stakeholders signed a series of contracts at the Paris summit, providing political backing for the project. The aforementioned 66 satellites will be assembled by Airbus Defence and Space in Toulouse, a major city in southern France, and will carry payloads manufactured by Thales Alenia Space. Under this initiative, the Belgian startup Aerospacelab secured a major satellite contract, helping to further “Europeanize” the project, while Germany’s OHB was selected to handle medium-Earth orbit satellites.
The Iris² program will be led by a consortium known as SpaceRISE, comprising France’s Eutelsat, Luxembourg’s SES, and Spain’s Hispasat. The first launches are scheduled for 2029, with a phased rollout of services expected between 2030 and 2032.
However, reports also highlight certain challenges. Some within the EU harbor doubts about the project’s prospects; Germany desires its own military communications satellite constellation, and Italy has shown interest in using Starlink, moves that could potentially undermine the EU’s collective organizational capacity.
Jean-Baptiste Thépaut, a communications satellite expert at the consultancy Novaspace, suggests that with France’s Eutelsat and Luxembourg’s SES in the SpaceRISE consortium—and France-based Airbus and Thales Alenia Space selected as key industrial partners—Italy and Germany might feel that their financial contributions are generating jobs in France rather than at home. This sentiment could lead to tensions and necessitate minor adjustments to the project.
Nevertheless, a European diplomat noted that Italy has agreed to the project, and Germany expressed its support in July, committing to ensuring compatibility between Iris² and its own future military satellite constellation.
Other European nations are also joining the initiative; for instance, Poland has pledged €656 million for the new satellite constellation. In a joint statement issued at the conclusion of the Paris Space Summit, 22 European countries—including Italy and Germany—reaffirmed their commitment to “continuing to support the accelerated development of the Iris² program.”
However, the project’s projected cost has risen from the €10.6 billion announced in late 2024 to the current €15.7 billion, making funding a key issue to watch moving forward.