The European Space Agency's (ESA) Pacis 3 project is scheduled to launch aboard Hisdesat’s next-generation satellite, SpainSat Next Generation I (SNG I), on 29 January 2025 at 20:34 EST (30 January 2025, at 02:34 CET) from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission represents a significant advancement in satellite communications, combining cutting-edge technologies with a vital partnership project, Pacis 3, with ESA.
The SNG I satellite will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9, achieving a milestone for both Spain’s space ambitions and European cooperation – particularly given that ESA’s Connectivity and Secure Communications contributed the development of advanced antennas through the Pacis 3 Partnership Project in collaboration with Airbus Defence and Space and Hisdesat.
SNG I incorporates advanced technologies, such as highly secured encryption and anti-jamming systems, ensuring the satellite can securely transmit data in complex environments. A key technological advancement in SNG I is its reconfigurable active antennas featuring advanced beam hopping and geolocation capabilities. This system, which is also developed under the Pacis 3 Partnership Project, allows the satellite to adapt its communication coverage and manage data traffic in real time, optimising bandwidth allocation depending on user demand and environmental conditions.
Pacis 3 will provide resilient, secure and affordable communications for a wide range of applications, such as secure telecommunications, for governmental users and emergency response teams and for AI, big data, and IoT. It aims to demonstrate a new pooling and sharing concept for satellite communications, with the innovative system designed to meet diverse communication needs across Europe, North and South America, North Africa, the Middle East and through to Singapore in Asia.
The Pacis 3 payload, which began its development in 2019, includes X-band transmit and receive Direct Radiating Array (DRA) antennas alongside six individually steerable high frequency Ka-band reflector antennas. The project, which will be used on both SNG I and II, positions Spain as a global leader in active antenna technologies, with 45% of the satellite being developed and entirely designed and built in Spain alongside Airbus Defence and Space, Thales Alenia Space and a significant number of Spanish space companies (Sener, Indra, Arquimea, Tecnobit, GMV and Airbus Crisa, amongst others).
SNG I also uses technologies developed through past ESA programmes, including Eutelsat Quantum and the Eurostar Neo platform, showcasing how previous future-facing investments in ESA programmes continue to provide value in driving Europe’s role in space and advancing technological frontiers.
After deployment, SNG I will initiate the orbit raising phase until it reaches its final geostationary orbit at 35,786 km above the Earth, where it will undergo in-orbit acceptance tests before becoming fully operational around mid-2025. It is expected to have an operational lifespan of 15 years.
"SpainSat NG I represents the next generation of secure satellite communications in Europe. This launch marks a key milestone in providing more adaptable and secure communications services that will benefit governmental users across Europe and beyond," said Laurent Jaffart, ESA's Director of Connectivity and Secure Communications.
“We are proud to have worked alongside our partners to integrate the Pacis 3 payload into SpainSat NG I. This collaboration underscores the strength of European cooperation in advancing space technology,” said Oscar Del Rio Herrero, ESA’s Pacis 3 Project Manager. “Pacis 3 will not only enhance secure communication capabilities for government and commercial users, but also contribute to the long-term competitiveness and expertise of Europe.”
“Spainsat NG is the most important and ambitious space program carried on by Spain, developed through a Public Private Partnership between the Spanish Ministry of Defense and Hisdesat, with the collaboration of the Spanish Ministries of Industry and Tourisim, and Science, Innovation and Universities. The European most advanced and protected software define satellite, including state of the art X-Band active antennas, will provide a very high secure and resilient satellite communications to the Spanish Armed Forces and to our allies in Europe and NATO,” said Miguel Ángel García Primo, Hisdesat CEO.
