“Europe has launched its most ambitious space programme in a decade, signing a contract to build a €10.6bn satellite network to rival Elon Musk’s Starlink in providing high-speed connectivity to European governments and citizens.

The Iris multi-orbit constellation is Europe’s third major infrastructure project in space after the Galileo navigation system and Copernicus, the world’s largest Earth observation network. It was announced two years ago with the dual aim of providing sovereign, secure communication services to EU member states, while also reviving the bloc’s flagging space sector with a cutting-edge project.”

From Financial Times.