EU Deploys New Government Satcom Program in Sovereignty Push (spacenews.com)
(Sunday February 01, 2026 @10:13PM (EditorDavid)
from the up-in-the-air dept.)
- Reference: 0180718368
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/02/02/0256227/eu-deploys-new-government-satcom-program-in-sovereignty-push
- Source link: https://spacenews.com/europe-signs-contracts-for-iris%C2%B2-constellation/
The EU "has switched on parts of its homegrown secure satellite communications network for the first time," [1]reports Bloomberg , calling it part of a €10.6 billion push to "wean itself off US support amid growing tensions."
SpaceNews notes the new government program GOVSATCOM [2]pools capacity from eight already on-oribit satellites from France, Spain, Italy, Greece and Luxembourg — both national and commercial. And they cite this prediction by EU Defense and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius.
The program could expand by 2027.
> "All member states can now have access to sovereign satellite communications — military and government, secure and resilient, built in Europe, operated in Europe, and under European control," [Kubilius said during his opening remarks at the European Space Conference]... Beginning in 2029, GOVSATCOM is expected to integrate with the 290 satellites in the [3]Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite constellation, known as IRIS2, and be fully operational... "The goal is connectivity and security for all of Europe — guaranteed access for all member states and full European control."
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-27/eu-deploys-first-satellite-service-in-bid-to-limit-us-dependence?srnd=phx-technology
[2] https://spacenews.com/eu-launches-government-satcom-program-in-sovereignty-push/
[3] https://spacenews.com/europe-signs-contracts-for-iris%C2%B2-constellation/
SpaceNews notes the new government program GOVSATCOM [2]pools capacity from eight already on-oribit satellites from France, Spain, Italy, Greece and Luxembourg — both national and commercial. And they cite this prediction by EU Defense and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius.
The program could expand by 2027.
> "All member states can now have access to sovereign satellite communications — military and government, secure and resilient, built in Europe, operated in Europe, and under European control," [Kubilius said during his opening remarks at the European Space Conference]... Beginning in 2029, GOVSATCOM is expected to integrate with the 290 satellites in the [3]Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite constellation, known as IRIS2, and be fully operational... "The goal is connectivity and security for all of Europe — guaranteed access for all member states and full European control."
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-27/eu-deploys-first-satellite-service-in-bid-to-limit-us-dependence?srnd=phx-technology
[2] https://spacenews.com/eu-launches-government-satcom-program-in-sovereignty-push/
[3] https://spacenews.com/europe-signs-contracts-for-iris%C2%B2-constellation/
Re: (Score:2)
> Except for the encryption keys which were all issued by the US.
"Continuously rotating keys".
You don't have to use the keys given. You can make your own. Like your own SSL, TLS, or SSH keys, just longer, and with a different algorithm. Discontinuous functions with constant key rotation is hackable, true. Not sure how long that would take now, in 2000 it was calculated to take over a million years. And remember that part "continuously rotating"? You get one message with that key, now start over. With Enigma, they got complacent by only changing keys every 24 hours. Now c