Belgian satellite manufacturer Aerospacelab has secured a contract worth 2.4 billion euros to build the majority of satellites for Europe’s IRIS2 network, a landmark deal the company describes as the largest in European space history. The Charleroi based firm will design, manufacture, and deliver 264 low earth orbit satellites, representing roughly seventy six percent of the entire planned IRIS2 constellation.
The IRIS2 network, whose name stands for Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite, aims to give European governments and institutions a secure, independent alternative to American satellite systems, most notably Elon Musk’s dominant Starlink network. The broader project represents the European Union’s third major flagship space programme, following the Galileo positioning system and the Copernicus earth observation initiative, with a total of 348 planned satellites across both low earth and medium earth orbit segments.
Founded in 2018, Aerospacelab has grown rapidly from a New Space startup into what company officials now describe as a major industrial contractor following this contract award. The deal was awarded through a competitive dialogue process, with Aerospacelab selected as one of the prime contractors for the constellation’s low earth orbit segment, delivering satellites through the Eutelsat led SpaceRISE consortium that is developing and operating the network under a concession agreement with the European Union.
Aerospacelab founder and chief executive Benoit Deper established the company specifically to disrupt traditional European satellite manufacturing approaches, and the firm has invested heavily in vertical integration, producing nearly all satellite components internally rather than relying on extensive external supply chains. That strategy included construction of a dedicated satellite production facility known as the Megafactory, positioning the company to handle manufacturing at the scale and speed this contract now demands.
Belgian space engineer Stijn Ilsen described the deal as unambiguously positive news for the country’s space sector, noting that Aerospacelab represents a genuinely new type of space company that has now validated its heavy investment in vertical integration through this landmark contract award. The company has effectively established itself as one of the most prominent players within the Belgian space industry through this single agreement.
The strategic importance of reducing European dependence on Starlink has been underscored by recent geopolitical developments, with Musk having previously demonstrated willingness to leverage control over the network for political purposes, including threats to restrict Ukrainian military access to Starlink connectivity during the ongoing conflict with Russia. That precedent has heightened European urgency around developing genuinely independent satellite communication infrastructure not subject to the whims of a single foreign billionaire or government.
Beyond Aerospacelab’s portion of the contract, the broader IRIS2 project has distributed additional manufacturing responsibilities across several other European aerospace companies. Eutelsat separately signed an initial agreement with Airbus to build sixty six additional low earth orbit satellites for delivery by 2029, while Thales Alenia Space will construct payloads for all three hundred thirty satellites within this segment under a contract worth approximately 500 million euros.
As Aerospacelab moves from contract signing toward actual satellite production, the coming years will test whether the company can deliver on this ambitious timeline, with satellites scheduled to become part of the operational European constellation by 2030. For Belgium’s broader space industry, this record breaking contract offers a significant validation of the country’s growing capabilities within an increasingly strategically important sector, positioning Aerospacelab as a genuine leader in Europe’s push toward space based technological sovereignty.
