According to the US Defense News website, the European Commission and the European Space Union "SpaceRISE" will soon sign a 12 year contract for the development, deployment, and operation of the IRIS2 satellite system. According to reports, the EU's move aims to create a European version of "Starlink" and strengthen Europe's strategic autonomy in the space field. It is reported that the European Commission announced in November 2022 the deployment of the IRIS2 satellite system, which is the third satellite constellation construction plan of the European Union after the Galileo satellite navigation system and the Copernicus observation program. Due to higher than expected cost estimates and inconsistent demand from different countries, the project was put on hold for a long time and was only recently put back on the planning agenda. The European Commission stated that the IRIS2 satellite system plans to launch over 290 low Earth orbit satellites to provide long-term, reliable, and secure satellite communication services for EU countries worldwide, including border and maritime monitoring, embassy and military mission communication, as well as broadband services for areas with weaker communication signals in Europe and the Arctic region. The satellite system is expected to be deployed for the first time by the end of 2024 and fully operational by 2027. In recent years, breaking away from external dependence and building independent satellite systems to meet the communication security and defense needs of member states has become a key focus of the EU's space strategy. However, due to the limited space in Earth's low Earth orbit, it can only accommodate about 60000 low Earth orbit satellites, making global competition for low Earth orbit satellite resources extremely fierce. SpaceX has currently launched over 6000 satellites into low Earth orbit and plans to launch tens of thousands more in the future, further exacerbating the already crowded low Earth orbit. At this time, the European Union announced the restart of the IRIS2 satellite system deployment plan, with the intention of integrating existing space advantage resources and technologies, promoting the development of space technology and industry, enhancing the autonomous capabilities in the field of satellite communication, and strengthening the voice in international space affairs. The European Commission stated that it will first approve the budget for the project, and at the same time approve additional funding in the later stage. In the future, relevant policies will be formulated to attract small and medium-sized aerospace enterprises to participate in the project. In addition, the EU actively participates in the formulation of international rules related to the space field to strengthen space regulation. Analysts say that although the EU is working hard to create favorable conditions for the IRIS2 satellite system project, the project still faces challenges in its progress. On the one hand, the funding issue remains unresolved. It is reported that the IRIS2 satellite system project had a total cost of approximately 6 billion euros (about 6.4 billion US dollars) when it was first proposed in 2022, but the French financial newspaper recently reported that the project's cost is currently expected to increase to 10.6 billion euros. As one of the main participating countries, Germany has publicly criticized the extremely high cost of the IRIS2 satellite system project and called for its postponement. According to relevant sources, the continuously rising costs have seriously affected the project schedule and to some extent undermined the confidence of relevant countries and enterprises. On the other hand, technological lag needs to be overcome. SpaceX has the capability to launch over 100 satellites at once and has already launched over 6000 Starlink satellites. In contrast, the EU IRIS2 satellite system consists of only over 290 satellites and takes two years to complete deployment, leaving a significant gap between the two. Airbus Group and Thales Alenia Space Company believe that the project is "technically immature" and have withdrawn from the leadership of the European Space Union's "SpaceRISE" project, participating only as subcontractors. (New Society)
Edit：He ChengXi Responsible editor：Tang WanQi
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