December 10, 2025
ESA Programme Related to EU Secure Connectivity and IRIS²
ESA is cooperating with the European Commission to develop one of the EU’s flagship space programmes: the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²).
t will be a strategic asset for the EU, in support of its strategic autonomy, resilience and competitiveness. After Copernicus for Earth observation and Galileo for navigation, IRIS² is the next flagship programme of the European Union.
Led by the European Commission, IRIS² is a bold and strategic endeavour for Europe’s future in space communications, connectivity, resilience and sovereignty. Through its ESA Programme Related to EU Secure Connectivity, the European Space Agency (ESA) plays a pivotal role by serving as the technical backbone, industrial orchestrator and oversight authority that bridges the EU’s policy ambition with industrial delivery.
What is IRIS²?
IRIS² will be a multi-orbital constellation, with approximately 300 satellites spanning across low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO). By utilising both orbits, the constellation will benefit from the low latency of LEO and the wider coverage of MEO, providing a superior commercial and sustainable system that is competitive and reduces the need to deploy two constellations to offer the same capabilities. An additional layer in Low LEO providing further services will also be developed and launched.
The system will be fully compatible with 5G technologies allowing seamless integration in existing and future connectivity systems, allowing for the optimisation of the constellation size and improving interoperability with existing systems and technologies.
IRIS² will not only provide connectivity to governments, but also to business, transport sectors, as well as remote and underserved areas. The programme is motivated by multiple strategic objectives: enhancing connectivity in regions with limited terrestrial networks, strengthening Europe’s resilience and digital sovereignty amidst increasing cybersecurity threats, and bolstering Europe’s competitiveness in the global satellite communications sector.
Europe’s dependency on nonEuropean space, satellite and communications systems has increasingly been viewed as a vulnerability, especially for secure, governmental communications, crisis management and resilience of critical infrastructure. IRIS² is conceived as a response to these challenges.
The launch of the first IRIS² satellites is envisaged for 2029, with the full services of the currently planned multi-orbit constellation in 2030.
ESA’s role in IRIS²
ESA brings decades of expertise in managing European space programmes, while coordinating industrial delivery across its Member States. ESA is involved in IRIS² through several key instruments and responsibilities:
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CONTACT
Guillermo Salgado Gispert
ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC)
Keplerlaan 1
2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands
+31 618233396
Guillermo.SalgadoGispert@esa.int
