Eutelsat announced major orders of satellites to support service continuity for the OneWeb constellation, and Europe’s IRIS² constellation.
Airbus Defence and Space received authorization to proceed for 229 OneWeb satellites for service continuity. With this order, Airbus will build a total of 669 OneWeb refresh satellites after two previous orders in late 2024 and early 2026.
For IRIS², Eutelsat selected Belgium-based Aerospacelab as the prime contractor for the IRIS² LEO segment to build 264 satellite platforms under a 2.4 billion euro ($2.8 billion) contract. The satellites will be dual Ku/Ka-band.
In addition, Eutelsat signed an initial contract with Airbus to build 66 LEO Ka-band satellites for IRIS², to be delivered in 2029. Thales Alenia Space will build the payloads for all 330 satellites under an order worth around 500 million euro ($581 million).
OneWeb Refresh
Eutelsat is ready to move forward with its OneWeb refresh and said the first satellites from its existing order with Airbus are expected to be delivered next quarter.
The French operator is investing an estimated 1 billion euro ($1.16 billion) into the additional satellites, which it said will have advanced digital channelizers for onboard processing and flexibility, and hosted payload capabilities.
Eutelsat also secured two dedicated Ariane 64 launches secured for 2027 and 2028 for the OneWeb deployment.
The OneWeb constellation was initially completed in 2023, and the last OneWeb launch was an additional 20 satellites launched in October 2024.
While the first-generation OneWeb constellation was built in Florida, Airbus is building the refresh satellites in Toulouse, France.
“With the first satellites from the 440 due for delivery and launch soon, our replenishment program is moving forward,” Eutelsat CEO Jean-François Fallacher said in a statement. “The planned addition of 229 more satellites will further strengthen OneWeb, while IRIS² will bring significant new capacity and capabilities. Together, they give us a powerful roadmap to serve our customers, grow our LEO business and reinforce our role at the heart of Europe’s sovereign connectivity future.”
The IRIS² LEO Component
The full industrial coalition for IRIS² is coming together with this Eutelsat LEO order. It comes after SES recently tapped OHB to build 18 Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites to form the MEO component of the constellation. OHB’s contract is worth nearly 1 billion euro ($1.16 billion).
IRIS² is planned to be Europe’s third flagship space program after Galileo and Copernicus, with 348 satellites total in MEO and Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) to provide secure connectivity services to the EU and its member states, along with broadband connectivity. SES, Eutelsat, and Hispasat are leading the constellation development as the SpaceRISE consortium.
Aerospacelab called the contract a “landmark” deal for the company. CEO and founder Benoît Deper founded the company in 2018 with the aim of shaking up satellite manufacturing in Europe. Last year, the company raised $110 million in a Series B round, and it is completing its ‘Megafactory’ in Belgium.
“The selection of Aerospacelab for IRIS2 reflects a deliberate industrial choice, a defining moment for Europe as a whole. Institutions are now also placing their trust in a new generation of space manufacturers: companies like Aerospacelab, built from the ground up to deliver satellite infrastructure at scale and speed,” Deper commented in a release.
Airbus noted that its component of “at least 66” IRIS² satellites will support military Ka-bands for European users. These satellites will also be built in the Airbus facility in Toulouse.
