SOLNA, Sweden (SSC PR) — Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) joins European space consortium UN:IO targeted at creating an independent European constellation of satellites for commercial and institutional communication channels. As a vital part of the infrastructure, SSC adds its significant heritage from satellite communications services as well as one of the world’s leading ground station networks. The mega constellation is set to be fully operational by 2025, supported by the European Commission who picked UN:IO out of the 10 consortia that applied.

The European Commission will support the UN:IO consortium with 1.4 MEUR for the preparations of critical infrastructure that will ensure secure broadband connectivity for mass communication and large data quantities.

Mynaric-co-led UN:IO, a consortium of companies, to outline within the next six months a detailed technical concept for its proposed constellation architecture

MUNICH, 13 December 2021 (Mynaric PR) — The Mynaric-co-led consortium UN:IO has been selected by the European Commission for initial work on an independent European satellite network. The European Commission selected UN:IO and one other consortium to outline within the next six months a detailed technical concept for their respective proposed constellation architecture to establish Europe’s future sovereign communications infrastructure in space. The selection for the study follows a competitive tender that engaged around a dozen contesters bidding to lay out Europe’s path towards a secure, very fast and, above all, sovereign communications network. 

VILNIUS, Lithuania, 10 December 2021 (NanoAvionics PR) – Smallsat mission integrator NanoAvionics, together with other UN:IO consortium members, will start working on a feasibility study, which has been granted 1.4 million EUR (1.6 million USD) by the European Commission, to create a sovereign communications network for Europe by 2025. The consortium comprises 14 companies led by satellite manufacturer Reflex Aerospace, launch provider Isar Aerospace and laser specialist Mynaric. According to the Lithuanian mission integrator the concept will “include breakthrough technologies for small satellites”.

It’s not the first time for NanoAvionics to be involved in such R&D projects. Last year, the company was awarded a 1 million euros grant by ESA (the European Space Agency) to develop new technologies for small satellite propulsion systems, and participated in two additional ESA funded satellite technology R&D projects. And in 2019, NanoAvionics received a €10 million grant by the EU’S Horizon 2020 and ESA to develop and launch the initial stage of a Global Internet of Things (GIoT) nanosatellite constellation. It has also built satellites for several space missions that included cutting edge technology such as NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) and Los Alamos National Laboratory’s first astrophysics payload in 20 years.