What is known

The European Union signed a contract with the SpaceRISE consortium. 290 IRIS2 satellites by 2030. The contract worth 10.6 billion euros will see the deployment of a secure analogue of Starlink, which will be used by EU member states as well as private companies and ordinary citizens, Channel 24 reported, citing the official EU website.

Technology will operate in medium and low Earth orbit. The project is managed by Europe’s three largest satellite network operators: SES SA, Eutelsat SA and Hispasat SA. Companies such as Airbus Defense, Deutsche Telekom and Orange are among the other important partners of the 12-year contract.

The European satellite network IRIS2 (Satellite Resilience, Interconnection and Security Infrastructure) will consist of 264 spacecraft in low Earth orbit and 18 in medium Earth orbit. The majority of this capacity is for commercial broadband services to businesses and households, and the rest is for government agencies.

The European Space Agency (ESA), a key player in the IRIS2 initiative, states: First launch is planned for 2029He added that unlike Starlink, the new constellation will “communicate and stay connected securely and quickly without the need for thousands of satellites.”

It is currently unknown how the IRIS satellites will compare to Starlink in terms of speed and coverage: it is not yet known whether they will be as fast as or inferior to the SpaceX satellites. In addition, direct communication via mobile phones continues to be supported.

Europe’s decision to launch its own satellite internet, which would not be dependent on the whims and moods of the controversial billionaire, is no surprise, especially after the media reported that Elon Musk was holding secret talks with the Russian dictator. He also refused to allow Ukrainian forces to use Starlink for attacks in Crimea, later saying the decision was made to prevent an escalation of the conflict. In other words, it is unknown how it will behave in the event of a possible war between the EU and Russia.