Advanced Television

IRIS2 master control to be in Germany?

January 2, 2025

By Chris Forrester

The upcoming European IRIS2 mega-constellation will have its master network control hub in Cologne, Germany according to a report by Heise. Some observers had expected Eutelsat’s OneWeb control centre, based in London, to provide security given that OneWeb is a major part of the IRIS2 system.

The report, not confirmed by the consortium managing the project, says that the new IRIS2 network control will be built upon the existing GovSatCom system used for linking, controlling and sharing government and military satellite services between the European member states.

The scheme is for a data hub for the long-term operational phase of IRIS2.

“The German Aerospace Center (DLR) and numerous international partners such as branches of the European Space Agency (ESA) are already based in Cologne. According to the North Rhine-Westphalian government,‘with its unique infrastructure, it offers ideal conditions for the integration of the hub,” said the Heise report.

In order to bring the ground station to Germany, the federal government, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the DLR worked closely together, according to the Federal Ministry of Economics, which is responsible for the project. The NRW government agreed to cover the costs of up to €50 million for the construction of a building on site. In future, the hub for Govsatcom will be used to control and coordinate the supply and demand of all central services of the new EU satellite system. According to the plan, it will serve as the central point for the allocation and interconnection of all communication routes available via the artificial earth satellites involved.

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