SES is leading delivery of the programme’s MEO segment through SpaceRISE, the consortium selected by the European Commission to develop and deploy the network. European satellite operators Eutelsat and Hispasat are also members of the consortium.
The contract places OHB at the centre of the MEO infrastructure planned for Europe’s third flagship space programme after Galileo and Copernicus. OHB has been a SpaceRISE technology partner and member of its industrial core team since the programme began.
IRIS² will combine 348 satellites operating in low Earth orbit and MEO with a dedicated ground segment secured to European standards. The multi-orbit design will require significantly fewer satellites to achieve global coverage than a constellation operating exclusively in low Earth orbit while maintaining low signal latency.
Each of the 18 platforms to be developed and built by OHB for SES will have a maximum power output of about 15 kilowatts. The satellites will each have a launch mass of approximately 2.6 tonnes.
“IRIS² will mark another significant step toward Europe’s independence,” OHB SE Chief Executive Officer Marco Fuchs said. “In an increasingly digital and highly mobile world, a resilient and autonomous communication infrastructure is indispensable.”
“With Galileo and Copernicus, OHB has already helped shape two of Europe’s most important satellite programs,” Fuchs said. “We are especially pleased to have been entrusted with the development of eighteen satellite platforms for IRIS², further expanding our role in Europe’s strategic space infrastructure.”
The EU plans to use IRIS² to provide secure, high-performance communications services to public authorities and private customers. The network is also intended to strengthen critical infrastructure, improve Europe’s crisis-response capabilities and reduce connectivity gaps in rural and remote regions.
The programme is structured as a public-private partnership led by the European Commission, with technical support from the European Space Agency and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme. The first satellites are scheduled for launch in 2029, with initial services expected to become available in 2030.
“As the company responsible for the delivery of the IRIS² MEO segment within SpaceRISE, SES is pleased to work with OHB on the development of these eighteen satellite platforms,” SES Chief Product and Innovation Officer Xavier Bertran said. “This contract represents an important step towards delivering Europe’s next generation of secure and resilient communication infrastructure.”
“Europe needs its own independent communications capabilities,” OHB System Executive Board member Gianaldo Mantovani said. “OHB is contributing its extensive experience in satellite platform development and in building constellations in medium Earth orbit.”
