MDA Space wins contract for EU sovereign satellite network antennas

Canadian company MDA Space has received an authorization to proceed worth more than 100 million Canadian dollars, or 64 million euros, from prime contractor Thales Alenia Space. SatNews and European Spaceflight both reported that the contract covers engineering and production work for digital antenna subsystems on the first 66 low Earth orbit satellites of the European Union IRIS² network. The decision to select a non-European contractor for critical hardware sparked immediate debate in Europe, SatNews reported. [1][3]

The IRIS² project is a planned multi-orbit internet constellation meant to serve European Union government agencies, private companies, and citizens. The full network will feature 330 satellites in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 1,200 kilometers, alongside 18 satellites in medium Earth orbit at 8,000 kilometers. Initial government operations are slated to begin in 2030, offering secure communications and surveillance similar to the Starshield military network developed by SpaceX for the United States government. [6][7]

Thales Alenia Space is an aerospace joint venture owned 67 percent by France's Thales Group and 33 percent by Italy's Leonardo. The company is headquartered in Cannes, France, and forms part of the Space Alliance alongside Telespazio. As FTMQ Space reported earlier, Thales Alenia Space is also currently contracted to build navigation satellites for the European Space Agency Galileo Second Generation fleet. [5][8]

The authorization enables MDA Space to start manufacturing the antenna hardware for the initial batch of uncrewed spacecraft. Full deployment of the IRIS² constellation is scheduled to commence in 2029. [1][6]