CNBC
• Elsa Ohlen
Arianespace has added six Ariane 64 launches to Amazon Leo’s contract, bringing the total to 24, while signing a cooperation agreement with ICEYE and supporting new India-France space-sector deals. The agreements reinforce Europe’s push to secure launch access and build sovereign satellite capabilities.
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Isar Aerospace has reached orbit with its Spectrum rocket, adding a homegrown European launch option. Separately, Eutelsat and Skynopy are expanding LEO satellite data-downlink capacity, while Aerospacelab has won a €2.4 billion contract to build 264 satellites for the EU’s secure IRIS² communications network.
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Arianespace has added six Ariane 64 launches to Amazon Leo’s contract, bringing the total to 24, while signing a cooperation agreement with ICEYE and supporting new India-France space-sector deals. The agreements reinforce Europe’s push to secure launch access and build sovereign satellite capabilities.
Britain has spent nearly $40 million on SpaceX satellite services, increasing its dependence on the U.S. company for military communications. The spending comes as European governments express growing concern about reliance on U.S.-controlled security infrastructure and the strategic implications of commercial satellite connectivity.
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Eutelsat, OroraTech, Planet Labs, Hanwha and a separate industry consortium are advancing satellite-based thermal, optical and synthetic-aperture radar intelligence systems, with plans spanning hosted payloads on OneWeb satellites, faster deployment of Planet’s Owl constellation and a projected $1 billion AI-enabled imaging network. HAMZA-1 adds an autonomous UAV dimension.
SpaceX is positioning Starlink beyond broadband and space infrastructure, promoting ambitions in mobile telecommunications. The expansion is drawing investor attention to the potential for the satellite operator to compete more directly with terrestrial telecom providers and reshape the connectivity market.
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MBDA and Safran won approval to supply France’s new long-range land-strike capability, while the U.S. expanded military connectivity with 21 PWSA Tranche-1 satellites. Separate awards include up to $4.84 billion for Northrop Grumman’s CIRCM system, $4.7 billion to L3Harris for PAC-3 MSE propulsion and $343.2 million for T56 sustainment.
The inaugural International Space Summit in Paris produced 51 announcements, including the first detailed look at the IRIS² low-Earth-orbit architecture. Former ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet was also named commander of Vast’s PAM-6 commercial mission to the International Space Station.
Two Belarusian nationals and a Lithuanian company they controlled were convicted of fraudulently obtaining European Union funding to develop high-precision satellite-navigation receivers. The case highlights legal and oversight risks surrounding publicly funded European space-technology development and procurement.
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