Hisdesat has contracted Airbus and Thales Alenia Space to build the SpainSat NG-III secure satellite communications satellite for Spain.
Airbus, the prime contractor, announced the award on July 31. As prime contractor, Airbus will design, integrate, and test the satellite at its facilities. Airbus in Spain will develop the X-band payload and Thales Alenia Space in Spain will develop the ultra high frequency (UHF) and military Ka-band payloads.
This satellite is a replacement for SpainSat NG-II, which was launched last year and hit by space debris during its orbit-raising process. That satellite was declared a total loss.
The new satellite is set to be launched in the third quarter of 2030 and will become operational in early 2031. It will function alongside SpainSat NG-1, also launched in 2025 and provide strategic communications for Spain’s Armed Forces, government agencies, and allied nations.
SpainSat NG-III will have greater agility, expanded bandwidth, and increased jamming and electronic threat protection than the previous satellites. The X-band antennas will be designed to reconfigure coverage up to 1,000 times per second.
“In today’s complex geopolitical landscape, SpainSat NG-III reinforces Spanish and European strategic autonomy by securing mission-critical communications for Spain, NATO, and our allied forces,” said Alain Fauré, head of Space Systems at Airbus Defence and Space.
