EU Commission signs IRIS2 contracts
August 7, 2026



The European Commission and the European Space Agency have concluded negotiations with the SpaceRISE consortium – comprising three operators: Eutelsat (French), HispaSat (Spanish) and SES (Luxembourg) – to launch the IRIS˛ constellation. One of the key decisions made was to designate HispaSat as the prime contractor for the antenna infrastructure, control systems and ground network connectivity, which will be the largest and most complex system developed to date in Europe for a space programme, with a budget exceeding €1.6 billion. The Indra Group company will be the first Spanish firm to participate in the consortium managing a major European space project.

IRIS2 is the European programme for secure satellite communications for commercial and military applications in areas of high strategic value. It is a public-private partnership between the European Commission and the European Space Agency, along with a consortium comprising the three leading European satellite operators —Eutelsat, HispaSat and SES. The total planned investment exceeds €15.6 billion and, according to the agreed-upon schedule, the first launches will take place in 2029. In the negotiations that have just concluded, an agreement was reached on the roadmap and the planned timeline for the development, production, and deployment of the 342 satellites that will make up the constellation, its ground support infrastructure and the services to be offered to government and commercial users.


Under the signed agreement, HispaSat, which operates under the Indra Space umbrella, will be the prime contractor for the ground segment (antenna infrastructure, control systems and connections to ground networks) for the entire constellation. In other words, this includes all the facilities necessary for the management and operation of the constellation’s various orbital layers, as well as the interconnection with ground networks, which will be located in multiple sites, ensuring compliance with the strict security and resilience requirements demanded by a government programme.

In addition, HispaSat will lead the development of the system’s very low Earth orbit (Low LEO) layer, which will operate at altitudes below 750 km. The agreement also guarantees HispaSat access to non-geostationary orbits in regions of high strategic interest. In this way, it complements its range of capabilities and geographic coverage. To this end, HispaSat has committed to an investment of up to €600 million in exchange for obtaining exploitation rights in regions of high strategic interest and commercial value for the business it already operates through its geostationary fleet.

Luis Mayo, CEO of HispaSat, commented: “”With the agreement reached between SpaceRISE, the European Commission, and European Space Agency, we are strengthening our position among the leaders of the European space industry and in its main business areas. We will lead the largest ground segment developed to date in a European Commission program and ensure access to low Earth orbit with the highest technological and safety standards, reinforcing our position as a multi-orbit operator and laying the foundation for the HispaSat of the future.”

Additionally, SES has announced the successful completion of Rendez-vous 1 (RDV1) under the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS˛) programme.

The successful completion of RDV1 confirms the programme’s readiness to move forward with implementation and provides greater visibility on the long-term scope, performance and economics of the MEO segment. In addition to leading the MEO satellites segment, SES will lead user terminal development, operations and the provisioning of LEO/MEO services through IRIS˛ control centres.

“The successful completion of RDV1 marks an important step towards delivering Europe’s next-generation secure, sovereign connectivity infrastructure,” commented Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES. “IRIS˛ builds on SES’s proven leadership in MEO and reinforces our long-term vision for secure, resilient and high-performance connectivity. Together with our existing O3b fleet and meoSphere roadmap, the programme positions SES to address evolving government and commercial requirements while supporting Europe’s ambitions for secure and sovereign multi-orbit communications.”

A Safer and More Innovative European Space Sector

The European space strategy is built on three pillars: Earth observation through the Copernicus programme; navigation and geolocation through the Galileo programme; and, from now on, secure government communications through the IRIS2 program.me It is, therefore, a flagship project of the European Union aimed at achieving an interconnected and secure Europe that guarantees its strategic autonomy. To achieve this, it will deploy a network of 330 new low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and 12 more in medium Earth orbit (MEO), which will begin providing their initial services in 2030.

One of the main innovations of IRIS2 is its funding model, which will be based on a public-private partnership.

The three members of the SpaceRISE consortium will collectively contribute up to €4 billion to the programme, which, added to the €11.6 billion in public investment from the European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA), brings the total to €15.6 billion. HispaSat’s commitment to a programme such as IRIS2 strengthens the position of the Spanish space sector and complements the government’s recent announcement of a Special Modernisation Programme, with a budget of up to €2 billion, to finance an additional national contribution and ensure Spain’s satellite capabilities, including nationwide coverage and deployments of interest to its defence.

HispaSat President, Pedro Duque, added: “Spain is making a decisive contribution to Europe’s strategic autonomy in space communications,
and HispaSat’s role in IRIS2 is proof of that. From the outset, we have been firmly committed to strengthening our secure communications and revitalising the Spanish and European industrial sectors. The IRIS2 programme addresses this dual need at a critical geopolitical moment, and we will ensure we provide the best possible response.”