The GovSat-2 satellite will be based on the Thales Alenia Space Spacebus 4000B2 platform. Photo: Thales Alenia Space

SES and the Luxembourg government are investing in a second satellite for the GovSat public-private partnership to provide government connectivity services over Europe. 

GovSat is a joint venture between SES and Luxembourg, and operates the GovSat-1 satellite that launched in 2018 and supports Luxembourg Directorate of Defence, EU and NATO nations, the U.S. Department of Defense. 

Thales Alenia Space will build GovSat-2, based on the Spacebus 4000B2 platform. The satellite will add new ultra-high frequency (UHF) channels, X- and military Ka-band, in addition to dedicated hardening, an advanced anti-jamming system, and embedded geolocation.

The satellite will be co-funded by SES and the Luxembourg Government, subject to approval by Luxembourg’s parliament. SES said the investment is in line with its previous CapEx guidance. 

This announcement comes after SES closed its acquisition of Intelsat. CEO Adel Al Saleh previewed there would be investment in government-specific satellites in an interview with Via Satellite published this week. 

“With geopolitical shifts and an increased need for scalable national security and defense capabilities, we are seeing growing demand for secure, reliable geostationary (GEO) connectivity with comprehensive coverage,” Al-Saleh said in the news release. “As governments across Europe look to bolster their sovereign satellite communications for defense and intelligence needs, GovSat-2 gives GovSat additional milsatcom capacity to address this strategic area of growth.”