Main
News
Science
The EU plans global satellite coverage by 2027

The EU plans global satellite coverage by 2027

27 January 2026, 17:47

The EU plans global satellite coverage by 2027 — Earth's satellites

The European Union is launching a new phase of space autonomy, expanding secure satellite services for defence and government needs.

The European Union is working to expand its satellite infrastructure to provide global coverage by 2027. This was announced by European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius during the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels, according to a Ukrinform correspondent.

According to Kubilius, last week the EU launched key operations within the Governmental Satellite Communications (Govsatcom) system of the European Union Space Programme, which are related to the development of the IRIS² satellite system. This opens up access to sovereign satellite communications for all member states — governmental and military, secure and encrypted, created and controlled in Europe.

The European Commissioner stressed that this stage is the first step towards EU space autonomy. In 2027, the Union plans to expand the coverage and capacity of the system so that it can cover the entire Earth.

New satellite capacity is expected to be purchased from commercial partners. At the same time, as Kubilius noted, the EU must take additional security measures in this process. Currently, Govsatcom is based on the use of existing national capabilities — eight satellites belonging to five member states.

In parallel, the development of the IRIS² system is continuing, with full launch planned for 2029. In addition, the European Commission will soon present a report on the European Space Shield programme — a roadmap of initiatives in the areas of "space defence" and "space for defence" for the coming years.

Within the next multiannual financial framework of the EU, the European Commission intends to propose a fivefold increase in funding for the space industry. The Union also seeks to avoid fragmentation of the space sector and duplication of financial programmes.

Kubilius welcomed the increase in investment in space programmes by individual EU countries, particularly Germany, while acknowledging the problem of the efficiency of defence spending at the Union level. In this context, the idea of creating a virtual European Space Command is being explored.

European Union, satellite communications, Govsatcom, IRIS², space defence

Technologies

Science

In Japan, rare crested ibises, which had become extinct in the country several decades ago, have been reintroduced into the wild

For the first time in several decades, eight crested ibises – a species that became extinct in Japan in the last century – have been released into the wild.