IRIS2 satellite will be built by SpaceRISE as European Commission has handed the contract to build and operate the multi-orbit satellite constellation to a consortium of firms collectively known as SpaceRISE.
IRIS2 satellite:
IRIS2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity, and Security by Satellite) is a satellite project of European Union which aimed at providing sovereign, secure, and resilient communication services across Europe.
Over 290 individuals satellites will be comprised in the constellation of satellites in various orbits. Along with the capacity for commercial applications, IRIS2 system will initially be used to service governmental users.
This IRIS2 system will be able to provide Europe with a ‘secure and competitive communications backbone’ and will help in improving the ability to respond to crises, protect infrastructure, and bridge the digital divide.
The IRIS2 programme is a public private partnership (PPP) to which a combination of EU, European Space Agency and private financing will provide funding from the three satellite operators within the SpaceRISE consortium.
SpaceRISE consortium:
- A group of three European satellite network firms, namely SES, Eutelsat, and Hispasat have made “SpaceRISE consortium” along with a group of subcontractors including Thales Alenia Space, OHB, Airbus Defence and Space, Telespazio, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Hisdesat and Thales SIX.
- On 31st October, it has been announced by the European Commission that after evaluating an “optimised best-and-final offer,” the SpaceRIDE consortium bid had been selected for the project.
- Before the end of this year, it is expected that the 12-year concession contract to finalize the agreement will be signed. And, the Full operational status of project is targeted for the early 2030s.
It has been said by Eva Berneke, Chief Executive Officer of Eutelsat, that “The IRIS2 programme is a powerful extension of Eutelsat’s commitment to advancing Europe’s digital sovereignty through sustained investment in multi-orbit technology to deliver multi-layered, low-latency networks, which are essential to Europe’s strategic resilience,”.
Well, a new era of ubiquitous global connectivity will be created as it is announced by the GSMA that to work on connecting terrestrial and space-based networks, it is going to team up with the ‘Mobile Satellite Services Association’.
An approach of integrating D2D and IoT services via satellites using 3GPP standards will be explored by the two bodies.
Expected budget of the IRIS2 satellite project:
It was initially expected that the project would cost approximately €6 billion, of which the European Commission would provide 60%, with the rest being covered by private industry. But according to the recent reports, the project’s budget will likely reach as much as €10 billion.
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