London, 3 May 2023.- A group of European Space and Telecommunications players have come together to form a partnership to respond to the European Commission’s call for tender related to the future European satellite constellation IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite). IRIS² aims to bring a new secure and resilient connectivity infrastructure to European governments, businesses and citizens.
The open consortium will be governed by Airbus Defence and Space, Eutelsat, Hispasat, SES and Thales Alenia Space. There will additionally be a core team consisting of: Deutsche Telekom, OHB, Orange, Hisdesat, Telespazio, and Thales. The consortium aims to create a state-of-the-art satellite constellation based on a multi-orbit architecture that would be interoperable with the terrestrial ecosystem.
The consortium will encourage start-ups, mid-Caps and SMEs to join the partnership, hoping to result in a more innovative and competitive European space sector where new business models will emerge.
The integrated team aims to foster collaboration among all European space players with a view to enabling EU’s strategic autonomy through the delivery of sovereign, secure and resilient government services to protect European citizens.
IRIS² will deliver resilient and secure connectivity solutions to governments to protect European citizens and will provide commercial services in the interest of European economies and societies. It will also bolster the EU partnership policy by offering its infrastructure abroad.
