OUTERSPACE TODAYNEWS
← All editionsMonday, August 10, 2026 / Issue 051
[ OST Daily ]

Europe Locks IRIS² at €15.6 Billion and Names Hispasat Ground Prime as Senate Confirms Space Force Acquisition Chief and NRO Director

Outerspace Today5 min read / 2026-08-10
OST Daily August 10, 2026 — Europe's IRIS² program cleared its key review on August 7 with a 348-satellite architecture and more than €15.6 billion of planned investment, Hispasat took the €1.6 billion ground-segment prime contract, and the Senate confirmed permanent leadership for Space Force acquisition and the National Reconnaissance Office.
The daily pictureOST editorial illustration · 2026-08-10
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The briefing

The Commission, ESA and the SpaceRISE consortium of SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat closed the key IRIS² review on August 7, locking in a 348-satellite design spanning 330 low Earth orbit and 18 medium Earth orbit spacecraft, with total planned investment above €15.6 billion and first launches slated for 2029. Hispasat was named prime contractor for the €1.6 billion ground segment, with €11.6 billion of the total coming from public funding. The deal moves Europe's sovereign broadband program from concession contract into build phase and hardens the 2 GHz spectrum case the French and German governments backed last month.

Katalyst Space Technologies said it slowed its Link servicing spacecraft from 9 degrees per second to 1.47 degrees per second using an electric thruster, and is preparing a flight-software update ahead of a late-August rendezvous with NASA's Swift observatory. The Senate confirmed Erich Hernandez-Baquero as Air Force assistant secretary for space acquisition and Roger Mason as NRO director, over a Space Force investment budget rising to roughly $59 billion in FY27. SpaceX also flew its 50th West Coast Falcon 9 of the year, the Starlink 17-38 mission from Vandenberg, as it shifts East Coast capacity toward Starship.

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The headlines

01

IRIS² clears key review with €15.6 billion committed across 348 satellites

SpaceX ETL

The European Commission, ESA and the SpaceRISE consortium of SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat completed IRIS²'s key review on August 7, validating costs, technical requirements and delivery timelines. The revised architecture covers 348 satellites, comprising 330 low Earth orbit (LEO) spacecraft including 66 dedicated Mil-Ka-band birds and 264 dual Mil-Ka/Ku-band birds, plus 18 medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites. Total planned investment exceeds €15.6 billion, split between €11.6 billion from the Commission and ESA and up to €4 billion from Hispasat, SES and Eutelsat, with first satellite launches targeted for 2029.

02

Hispasat named prime contractor for IRIS² ground segment

Hispasat, part of Spain's Indra Group, was selected as prime contractor for the ground portion of IRIS², a package valued at €1.6 billion ($1.85 billion). The scope covers antenna infrastructure, control systems and terrestrial network connectivity across all orbital layers of the constellation, plus the sites needed to manage and operate the network and connect it to ground networks. First launches remain targeted for 2029.

03

Katalyst slows Link spacecraft's spin ahead of late-August Swift rendezvous

Katalyst Space Technologies said it reduced its Link servicing spacecraft's body rate from 9 degrees per second to 1.47 degrees per second by firing one of its electric thrusters, consuming less than 100 grams of propellant. The company is preparing a significant flight-software update to restore full attitude control in Link's current configuration and now targets a late-August grapple of NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which is expected to cross the 300-kilometer reboost threshold no earlier than October.

04

Senate confirms new Space Force acquisition chief and NRO director

The Senate voted 51-47 on August 7 to confirm Erich Hernandez-Baquero as Air Force assistant secretary for space acquisition and integration and Roger Mason as director of the National Reconnaissance Office. Hernandez-Baquero, a retired Air Force colonel and former Raytheon vice president for space intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), takes over a Space Force investment budget rising to about $59 billion in research and procurement in FY27 from $18.9 billion in FY26, and inherits the service's new Portfolio Acquisition Executive structure. Mason inherits an NRO deep into a proliferated-architecture transition.

05

SpaceX flies 50th West Coast Falcon 9 of the year with Starlink 17-38

SpaceX

SpaceX launched the Starlink 17-38 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 9:35 a.m. PDT on August 8, deploying 24 Starlink satellites and landing booster B1093 on Of Course I Still Love You after its 16th flight. It was SpaceX's 50th West Coast launch of the year and 71st operational Starlink delivery of 2026, as the company throttles East Coast Falcon 9 flights to prioritize Starship preparations at Starbase.

06

Canada joins the Gateway salvage as CSA adapts its HALO work for a lunar base

NOC

Northrop Grumman said on August 4 it will reuse HALO module hardware and technologies originally built for NASA's shelved Gateway on three Lunar Infrastructure Demo missions carrying power, data and mechanical interfaces to the lunar surface, and the Canadian Space Agency separately said it will adapt its Gateway work for a planned lunar base. NASA framed the LID payloads as demonstrations of surface power and avionics that can survive lunar night, though neither party disclosed launch dates or specific payloads.

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Market pulse

Archived snapshot from this edition. Prices and moves are not live.

Gainers+36
Decliners-10
Big mover LUNR+11.9%
AssetSnapshotMoveTrend
LUNRIntuitive Machines$19.65+11.9%
SPCEVirgin Galactic$3.345+6.5%
GLWCorning$167.42+5.6%
YSSYork Space Systems$10.26-10.9%
SIDUSidus Space$2.5-1.6%
TSATTelesat$52.21-0.8%
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Launch watch

Schedule and countdowns as recorded in the 2026-08-10 edition.

Long March 12

CASC · Long March 12 · Commercial LC-2 · Wenchang Space Launch Site

Long March 2C

CASC · Long March 2C · LC-9 · Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center

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Filings

[ End of Issue 051 ]

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