European satellite operator Eutelsat has announced that they’ve selected Airbus Defence and Space (ADS) to build the first batch of 100 next generation (GEN2) broadband satellites for their global OneWeb network in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is a constellation that has been partly supported by the UK government. Expect various upgrades, such as 5G mobile support.
OneWeb (aka – Eutelsat OneWeb) has 654 small (c.150kg) first generation (GEN1) LEO platforms in space – orbiting at an altitude of 1,200km above the Earth (c.600 of them for coverage and the rest for redundancy). The network was completed in March 2023 (here), promising both ultrafast broadband speeds and fast latency times. But a further 15 satellites (plus one GEN2 prototype) were then added in May 2023 for “resiliency and redundancy to the network” (here) and then 20 more in October 2024 (here).
In case anybody has forgotten, OneWeb originally planned to launch hundreds more satellites in the future (funds allowing), which were expected to reflect a GEN2 model that could potentially sit in a higher Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) of 8,500km. The GEN2s were widely expected to have more data capacity, support for 5G mobile and may, possibly, introduce enhanced navigation and positioning features. A £32m beam-hopping prototype of the GEN2 satellite, known as “Joey-Sat”, was launched in 2023 (here).
However, Eutelsat signalled, after its merger with OneWeb in Sept 2023 (here), that it would now aim to make the GEN1s last longer than originally anticipated, while also phasing-in the GEN2s more slowly over time and with fewer satellites. The change in strategy was partly due to the low failure rate of the GEN1s and Eutelsat’s desire to spread the capital expenditure (cost) burden over a longer period of time, which helps to de-risk their investment.
The ADS Deal and IRIS 2
Despite the expectation of future OneWeb satellites, Eutelsat is known to have been under some financial strain (significant debts) and previous reports suggested that their future plans may depend, at least in part, upon what approach the EU took to growing their own IRIS 2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) LEO constellation.
The question of OneWeb’s future was underlined again this week after Cheng-Wen Wu, the Minister responsible for Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council, suggested that OneWeb’s network lacked the bandwidth to help cater for the island’s needs (something Eutelsat denies) and suggested that there were concerns about delays in the delivery of GEN2. However, in fairness, we are talking about supporting a huge island in the event of a possible war (Elon Musk’s ties to China make Starlink unfavourable). As it stands, Taiwan is now pursuing a possible arrangement with Amazon’s Kuiper constellation, which hasn’t launched yet.
The good news is that Eutelsat made two big announcements this week. The first saw them confirm that the SpaceRISE consortium, of which they are a part (inc. Hispasat, and SES), had inked an agreement as concessionaire for the EU’s new €10.6bn (£8.77bn) IRIS2 constellation. The new constellation will comprise around 290 spacecraft including 264 LEO and 18 MEO satellites and is expected to be in service in 2030.
In an ideal world, Eutelsat would have liked OneWeb to form the backbone of IRIS2, but under the new deal they will still play a supporting role.
Extract from Eutelsat’s IRIS2 Announcement
“Eutelsat’s involvement in IRIS2 represents a key step in the company’s strategy to develop and expand its low Earth orbit capacities, and the extension of its existing OneWeb constellation will be technologically compatible with the future IRIS2 assets.
Once operational the IRIS² constellation will offer compelling complementarity with Eutelsat’s existing LEO business, notably giving Eutelsat access to additional sellable LEO capacity secured by its investment of at least 1.5 Tbps out of a total of 2 Tbps of LEO capacity, at an attractive cost per Gbps, as well as to KaMil capacity not consumed by EU sovereign needs.
Eutelsat will also be able to complete IRIS2 with further satellites to scale up capacity and carry additional payloads based on demand.”
A second announcement followed yesterday, when Eutelsat announced that it had chosen Airbus to build the “first batches” of OneWeb’s future GEN2 spacecraft, totalling 100 satellites, with delivery targeted starting end of calendar-2026. The new satellites will embark key technology upgrades, notably “5G on-ground integration” and, as expected, will also be technologically compatible with Europe’s IRIS2 constellation.
Eva Berneke, CEO of Eutelsat Group, said:
“We are relying on our long-standing partner, Airbus, to begin building the first batches of the Next Generation of our OneWeb LEO constellation, which will ensure we deliver continuity of service of the existing constellation with enhanced service features, as we move towards an architecture in line with the IRIS2constellation in 2030. Our in-market experience shows us that the appetite for low Earth orbit capacity is growing rapidly, and we are excited to embark on the next stage of our journey to satisfy that demand.”
Sadly, the announcement doesn’t provide any future detail than that, such as precisely what technical enhancements the new GEN2 satellites will have or what orbit altitude they will adopt. All 100 new satellites will be built at the Airbus site in Toulouse (not the UK) and production is expected to start in 2026, although it’s presently unclear which rockets will be used to launch the satellites and when that will occur.