Portugal backs Meo-Thales bid for IRIS 2 gateways
Portugal will support a Meo and Thales bid to provide gateway services for the EU’s IRIS 2 satellite network, linking Portuguese teleport sites to a major European space project.
Portugal’s government will support a joint bid by Meo and Thales in Portugal to provide satellite gateway services to the consortium developing IRIS 2, the European satellite constellation designed as a secure alternative to Starlink.
According to an official source at the office of Portugal’s minister for education, science and innovation, the government is preparing the documentation needed to formalise that support. The same source said the Portuguese Space Agency has already submitted the technical part of the Meo-Thales application, while the second part must be filed by the end of September.
The proposal would use the teleport sites at Alfouvar, near Sintra, and Santa Maria in the Azores. Meo and Thales manage the two facilities, which host antennas that receive satellite signals and connect them to terrestrial networks. Meo has said Alfouvar would be the main teleport and Santa Maria the secondary site.
IRIS 2 combines low Earth orbit, medium Earth orbit and geostationary satellites for both government and commercial uses, including defence, border control, crisis management, aviation, maritime connectivity and Internet of Things services. The SpaceRise consortium developing the system is led by SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat, and includes aerospace and telecoms groups such as Airbus Defence and Space, OHB, Telespazio, Deutsche Telekom, Orange and Thales.
The European Commission and SpaceRise signed the implementation agreement for IRIS 2 in August, adding 66 low Earth orbit satellites and bringing the core constellation to 348 satellites. The first launches are targeted for 2029.
Originally published at Eco.pt
