Open Cosmos asks ITU for launch variation
June 24, 2026

By Chris Forrester



Small satellite specialist Open Cosmos has recently announced a partnership with Infinite Orbits, a European player in in-orbit servicing and Rendezvous & Proximity Operations (RPO). Open Cosmos is now asking the ITU to extend its satellite launch obligations by at least a year.

Open Cosmos original deadline of June 10th, which required that the company launch half of its planned Ka-band constellation, has already been missed.


Open Cosmos was founded by Rafal Jorda Siquier in 2015 with the stated aim of reducing the cost of access to space, and now operates bases in the UK (at the Harwell Science & Innovation Campus), Spain, Portugal and Greece. It has as ‘partners’ Innovate UK, the European Space Agency and UK Space Agency.

The company is claiming ‘force majeure’ in its application to the ITU, saying that a January failure of an Indian rocket has set back its plans.

Those plans include the launch of four Firefly Aerospace rockets, each with six small satellites, to now take place between September 206 and May 2027.

Open Cosmos submitted a 25-page letter to the ITU’s influential Radio Regulations Board complete with supporting letters from Arianespace, Avia, Firefly, Isar Aerospace and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and each explaining why the original deadline could not be met.

Open Cosmos reportedly has 11 satellites fully built with another 17-nearing completion.

On January 22nd, some 10 days after the Indian rocket failure, Open Cosmos managed to launch two satellites on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket and thus ‘bring into use’ its orbital frequencies from the Liechtenstein-registered broadband network that had previously been assigned to Rivada Space Networks.

Rivada and Liechtenstein had a spectacular falling out (Rivada has since secured German frequencies but has yet to launch its overall 576 satellite constellation).

Open Cosmos is planning a smaller constellation than Rivada for the ITU’s 3ECOM-1 network of satellites.