It seems, despite much confusion and the departure of Thierry Breton, the EC Commissioner with oversight of the scheme, a Plan B contract for the IRIS2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) highly secure mega-constellation could be signed by the end of this year. The reformed and much stripped-down consortium (comprising SES, Eutelsat […]

The ambitious IRIS2 satellite proposal for a constellation of European low Earth orbiting satellites is facing further challenges, not least from the German government. While not confirming the reported final cost of some €12 billion, a response last week to a question in Germany’s parliament (from the CDU/CSU group) talked about the break down in […]

Airbus Defence & Space and Thales Alenia Space, which were once part of the IRIS2 SpaceRISE consortium bidding for a mega-constellation of low Earth satellites, have submitted separate bids to build the satellites and submitted their proposals to the remaining members of the consortium, according to a report by La Tribune. The principal remaining members […]

Europe’s plan for a highly-secure orbital constellation, called IRIS2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) is widely accepted to be in trouble. Two key members of the winning consortium (Airbus Space & Defence and Thales Alenia Space) have already stepped down. The remaining members of the SpaceRISE consortium, formed specifically to bid for […]

It is widely accepted that the EU’s plan to build a low Earth orbiting constellation of satellites to rival that of SpaceX’s Starlink is in trouble. One reliable observer described the project as “fading away”. The EU’s IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) scheme is seen as over-ambitious and thus too expensive. […]

The IRIS2 consortium, which is seeking to build a satellite mega-constellation on behalf of the European Commission, looks as if it is on the verge of collapse. French newspaper La Tribune says that due to risk assessment, Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Space, the subsidiaries of the two European aerospace giants, have sent a letter […]

The European Commission wants to build a new satellite constellation called IRIS2. A consortium (SpaceRise) has submitted its best and final bid to secure the contract to build the highly-secure system which will be targeted at military, governmental and potentially consumer users. However, Germany has not been keen on the proposal and has issued very […]

IRIS2 is the European Commission’s (EC) scheme for a major super-secure satellite constellation. It is already extremely late in coming to any sort of agreement as to how its proposed public/private finance can be structured. Now the European Space Agency (ESA) has spoken out with something of a rescue plan. ESA director general Josef Aschbacher […]

The EU is reportedly looking to “haggle down” the cost of its planned IRIS² mega-constellation of broadband satellites. Reports suggest that the EU Commission looking after the already delayed project wants the end costs to be around €8 billion instead of the current rumoured €12 billion. But tough as this decision is, there are also […]

IRIS2, which is a massive European project to provide an independent broadband-by-satellite service for the military, governments and consumers, is facing some major headaches. IRIS2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) had been planned to be deployed by 2027. That date is now extremely doubtful, and the scheme already faces challenges of anticipated […]