Europe has embarked on its most ambitious space initiative in a decade, unveiling plans to build the €10.6bn Iris² satellite network. The constellation, designed to provide secure, high-speed connectivity, is seen as the European Union’s response to Elon Musk’s Starlink. Aimed at bolstering strategic autonomy, the network will serve both commercial and government applications.

Iris² marks the EU’s third major space infrastructure project, after Galileo and Copernicus. It is driven by a desire to reduce dependency on foreign providers, particularly in sensitive sectors like surveillance and crisis management. The European Commission will cover 61% of the project’s cost, with the remainder financed by SpaceRise, an industrial consortium led by Eutelsat, Hispasat, and SES.

The network will deploy 290 satellites in low and medium Earth orbits, with operations set to commence by 2030. While most of the capacity will be dedicated to commercial broadband services, a significant share will support government applications. This dual-use approach underscores the EU’s intent to balance economic competitiveness with defense imperatives.

Reviving space competitiveness: Europe’s space industry, however, faces challenges. Traditional satellite manufacturers, such as Airbus and Thales, have struggled to adapt to the shift toward mega-constellations of smaller satellites, a market dominated by American players like SpaceX. Iris² is thus viewed as a lifeline to revive Europe’s space competitiveness, providing a pipeline of contracts and spurring innovation.

Leaders hope the project will also strengthen Franco-German collaboration, which has been strained by disagreements over funding and work distribution. However, officials stress that contracts will be awarded based on competitiveness, not nationality.

With Iris², Europe aims to reclaim its leadership in space-based telecom while ensuring sovereignty and technological advancement in an increasingly crowded orbit.