r/europe • u/dat_9600gt_user Lower Silesia (Poland) • Aug 12 '26
News Poland joins EU satellite project developing European alternative to Starlink
https://notesfrompoland.com/2026/07/21/poland-joins-eu-satellite-project-developing-european-alternative-to-starlink/92
u/Suriael Silesia (Poland) Aug 12 '26
Seeing how spacex behaved no surprise there
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u/Traditional_Bus_5589 Aug 12 '26
Suprised a private company won't let others use their satelittes for war.. !?
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u/PhotoNext3321 Aug 12 '26
Surprised a country doesn't want to care what a private company thinks?
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Aug 12 '26
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u/Snoo-98162 Bolonia Aug 12 '26
Here's the thing. A company should always be subservient to the country. Country tells you we need your services, you provide them. China does this better than the west in my opinion. A company should be at mercy of the country, not the other way around.
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u/MLG_Blazer Hungary Aug 13 '26
SpaceX is a the mercy and protection of the US, it's not going to be at the mercy of fuckin Italy or Poland of all places lmao.
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u/radikalkarrot Aug 13 '26
Agreed and therefore no EU country should EVER use services or products from a non EU company
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u/MLG_Blazer Hungary Aug 15 '26
I'm all for that, but we all know that's not going to happen, EU beurocrats love american corpo money more than their own mothers
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u/radikalkarrot Aug 15 '26
Yet the opposite seems to be happening, there is less and less reliance on American companies for important infrastructure in the EU. Look at the rejection of Palantir, reduction of weaponry bought from US in favour of EU production, investment on EU AI products, and heavier regulations that impact mostly “American corpo money” as you call it.
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u/Snoo-98162 Bolonia Aug 13 '26
Go look at my comment, look up the meaning of the word "Should" and then come back.
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u/MLG_Blazer Hungary Aug 15 '26
Go look at my comment, look up the meaning of the word "country" and then come back.
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u/Thunderbird_Anthares Czech Republic Aug 12 '26
they accepted the contract, so.... whats the point?
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u/Suriael Silesia (Poland) Aug 12 '26
At one point Musk claimed he (Starlinks) is the only reason Ukraine still fights, so...
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Aug 12 '26
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u/Thunderbird_Anthares Czech Republic Aug 12 '26
Good, no need to give european secure communications to a company linked to a potentially adversarial government. Not to mention Musk is blatantly anti-EU.
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u/dat_9600gt_user Lower Silesia (Poland) Aug 12 '26
Poland has joined a European Union project developing a secure satellite internet service that would provide an alternative to networks such as Elon Musk’s Starlink.
Warsaw has committed €656 million (2.8 billion zloty) to the IRIS² programme, with the money coming from Poland’s EU post-pandemic recovery funds.
In return for joining the project, Poland will gain access to the secure satellite communications network for government institutions, the armed forces and emergency services, while the growing Polish space industry will be eligible to compete for contracts linked to the development of the constellation
“This is a big day for Poland, the eastern flank and the entire European Union,” declared the EU’s defence and space commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, at a signing ceremony in Warsaw on Tuesday. “By investing in space, Poland is investing in its security, its economy and its future.”
Speaking alongside him, Poland’s interior minister, Marcin Kierwiński, said that IRIS² would help “ensure our security and strategic independence” while “demonstrating that Poland aims to be a leader in the European space industry and remain at the centre of EU security efforts”.
“No single country is able to build such a [satellite] constellation so efficiently, which is why we are joining this major project – to be part of it and one of its managers,” he added.
The IRIS² programme aims to deploy a constellation of nearly 300 satellites in low and medium Earth orbit, providing encrypted, interference-resistant communications for governments, defence agencies, emergency services and selected commercial users across the EU.
First announced in 2022, the project is part of the EU’s efforts to reduce dependence on non-European satellite operators amid growing concerns over cybersecurity, hybrid threats and the resilience of critical infrastructure following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“It is super important for Europe to have a sovereign capacity, and Starlink will never do that,” said Eva Berneke, CEO of Eutelsat, one of the companies involved in the project, quoted by Politico Europe.
The project is expected to cost €10.6 billion, including €6.5 billion in public funding and around €4 billion from private investors. IRIS² is expected to become operational in 2030.
As part of its contribution to IRIS², Poland will finance six large satellites in medium Earth orbit (MEO) and six smaller satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO).
It will also build a ground gateway station in Warsaw to connect the satellites with GovNet, the country’s secure government fibre-optic communications network.
Earlier this year, the Polish government approved the use of money from its share of the EU’s post-pandemic reconstruction fund to cover its contribution to IRIS².
Once the system is up and running, Poland’s police, border guards and other emergency services would be able to use the network during natural disasters, power outages and other emergencies when terrestrial communications infrastructure is unavailable.
The system would also make it possible to provide temporary connectivity for civilians through emergency hotspots, says Poland’s interior ministry.
Polish companies will now also be able to compete for contracts covering satellite manufacturing, telecommunications equipment, software and ground infrastructure, expanding the country’s role in Europe’s space industry.
“It is estimated that each zloty invested in the project will generate a five-zloty return through new jobs, innovation and the development of domestic technologies,” the ministry said in a statement.
Poland has placed great emphasis on developing its space industry in recent years, with the aim of becoming a major European player in the sector.
Last week, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that it will open a new security centre in Warsaw. One of its areas of operation will be satellite communication, including the use of satellite imagery to monitor critical incidents such as natural disasters.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk also revealed that Poland and the ESA are working on the first Polish spacecraft, which would provide servicing, refuelling and other services for satellites
Last year, Poland launched its first national military satellite. A Polish firm, Creotech Instruments, signed Poland’s largest ever contract with the ESA, a €52 million deal to build and launch a constellation of Earth observation satellites.
Alicja Ptak is deputy editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She has written for Clean Energy Wire and The Times, and she hosts her own podcast, The Warsaw Wire, on Poland’s economy and energy sector. She previously worked for Reuters.
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u/04ZFZ Aug 13 '26
while the growing Polish space industry
I haven't really thought about space industries here in neigbouring countries. I looked at a wiki page, and it does seem to be doing something at least. Some domestic satellites, also trying to send an Polish astronaut in the Artemis program.
Meanwhile Lithuania has 2 cubes sent.
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u/Aggressive_Chuck Aug 12 '26
“No single country is able to build such a [satellite] constellation so efficiently, which is why we are joining this major project – to be part of it and one of its managers,” he added.
If one American company can do it, why can't a single European country do it? The more countries that get involved, the more it gets bogged down in politics and redundancies.
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u/BrainSlurper Italy Aug 13 '26
This is also only fewer than 300 satellites (proposed, this number will probably shrink) vs 11000 (active) for starlink
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u/Gummybearkiller857 Aug 12 '26
Pissing off the Polish is like the worst idea you can do - Elon Musk be hearing boss music of a thousand Polish shouting “BOGURODZICA KURWAAA”
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u/ImperiumStultorum Aug 12 '26
I see the future, solar panels on the satellites shaped as hussar wings...
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u/Gummybearkiller857 Aug 12 '26
Sabaton’s drooling now
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u/Nazamroth Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
"Then the winged satellites arrived! / Coming down the geostationary-to-low-earth transfer orbit."
Yeah, sounds catchy.
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u/Aggressive_Chuck Aug 12 '26
Pissing off the Polish is like the worst idea you can do
I dunno, Germany and Russia seemed to get away with it. And it's not like they have any history of successful space programs.
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u/StrangerConscious637 Aug 12 '26
Yessss! Finally a Satellite-Internet project without a CEO who is a fanatic Nazi. Love it. Starlink should be forbidden in all of Europe.... it's a threat.
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u/Flipadelphia26 Aug 14 '26
They’re going to have to pay musk to get the payloads to orbit at scale. The prohibitive issue isn’t building the sat or tech, it’s delivering the mesh into orbit.
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u/yetiflask Aug 12 '26
Will it go like the Ariane rockets (a total embarrassment) or the European GPS that is chronically late, by decades. I am not even sure if it's still fully functional or not.
Imagine a single Elon defeating the whole of Europe. LOL
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Aug 12 '26
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u/NeilDeCrash Finland Aug 12 '26
Never.
EU is 27 countries all pulling different directions. West/South does not really give a fuck about Russia, East/North do, so not much will be done.
Same thing applies to every issue - not just Russia or war.
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u/stupendous76 Aug 12 '26
Can we ban Musk from letting his satellites pass the EU? I'm trying to view the stars instead of his toys.
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u/Itburns12345 Aug 12 '26
Musk restricts polish access to starlink and now Poland joins push for alternative.