A “posthumous” victory for Thierry Breton. The European IRIS² constellation has finally found its lucky star with the decision of the European Commission to select on Thursday the SpaceRISE consortium (for Space Consortium for a Resilient, Interconnected and Secure Europe) to carry out the IRIS² program (infrastructure for resilience, interconnectivity and satellite security). Made up of three European satellite network operators (SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat), SpaceRISE was chosen by the Commission to manage the concession contract relating to the development, deployment and operation of IRIS². It is the European Union's new flagship space project after the Galileo (satellite positioning) and Copernicus (climate monitoring) programs. And it is clearly Europe's response to Starlink (SpaceX), a megaconstellation which could have up to 30,000 satellites.
290 satellites
This choice marks a crucial step in the establishment in Europe of communications infrastructures that are secure, resilient and sovereign. The signing of the concession agreement is scheduled for December. The 12-year concession contract is based on a public-private partnership to acquire a system composed of more than 290 satellites in different orbits (medium MEO and low LEO) and the associated ground segment to provide public services in the early 2030s while enabling commercial services. “Thanks to the IRIS² multi-orbit satellite system, Europe will be better able to respond to crisis situations, protect essential infrastructure and combat the digital divide”explained Eutelsat in a press release published late Thursday.
The concession contract will be financed within the framework of a public-private partnership (PPP) both through public investments – European Union (2.4 billion euros for the moment) and European Space Agency (750 million) – and through private investments made by the three operators united in SpaceRISE (SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat ). A project worth more than 10 billion euros in total. “ We we will ensure that the contract continually remains in line with our requirements of internal rate of return, cash generation and investment quality », Already warned the general director of SES, Adel Al-Saleh. Regarding the European Union's contribution, the European Commission will first make a budgetary commitment within the current multiannual financial framework. Then additional amounts may be granted after December 31, 2027.
Competitive subcontracting
The consortium will notably rely on a group of European subcontractors (Thales Alenia Space, OHB, Airbus Defense and Space, Telespazio, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Hisdesat and Thales SIX) operating in all segments of the satellite ecosystem. telecommunications for the provision of the scope of the concession contract. “The SpaceRISE offer provides an appropriate mechanism to ensure competitive subcontracting in the selection of its supply chain, particularly for SMEs, to stimulate innovation by encouraging the participation of new entrants”explained the European Commission. The European industrial ecosystem can thank Thierry Breton for having forceps this vital constellation for all the players concerned.
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