OUTERSPACE TODAYNEWS
← All editionsThursday, September 10, 2026 / Issue 074
[ OST Daily ]

Eutelsat Orders 229 More OneWebs From Airbus, Airbus Starts Building the First IRIS² Satellites, and Firefly Books Two Alpha Launches From Sweden's Esrange

OST Daily September 10, 2026 — Eutelsat expanded its Airbus OneWeb order to 669 satellites and cleared Airbus and Thales Alenia Space to start building the first low Earth orbit (LEO) layer of IRIS², Firefly booked two Alpha launches from Esrange for 2028 with the Swedish Space Corporation, Arianespace booked 10 more Ariane 64 missions including six for Amazon Leo, and NASA on-ramped Relativity's Terran R to its NLS II contract.
The daily pictureOST editorial illustration · 2026-09-10
[ 01 ]

The briefing

Europe's constellation programs moved from planning to industrial commitment at the International Space Summit in Paris. Eutelsat signed an Authorisation to Proceed with Airbus Defence and Space for 229 additional OneWeb satellites, on top of the 440 already on order, taking the new-generation OneWeb fleet Airbus will build in Toulouse to 669. Airbus signed an initial contract with Eutelsat, acting for the SpaceRISE consortium, to design and build the first LEO layer of the EU's IRIS² constellation, at least 66 satellites carrying military Ka-band payloads for delivery in 2029, with Thales Alenia Space supplying the payloads.

Firefly Aerospace signed with the Swedish Space Corporation for two Alpha launches from Esrange no earlier than 2028, with the corporation taking full payload capacity for national security and rideshare customers as pad construction finishes at Launch Complex 3C. Arianespace said it booked 10 more Ariane 64 missions, six of them for Amazon Leo, strengthening its case for a higher annual Ariane 6 flight rate, and The Exploration Company booked an Ariane 6 launch for its Nyx demonstration mission under ESA's ALADDIN cargo programme. NASA added Relativity Space's Terran R to its NLS II indefinite-delivery contract.

Eutelsat also signed Germany's OroraTech to host 48 thermal infrared payloads, with options for 48 more, on future OneWeb satellites for wildfire detection. On the defense side, Gilat's DataPath subsidiary said the Department of War ordered more than $32 million of multi-band DKET transportable ground terminals, with deliveries over the next 12 months, and MDA Space unveiled MDA Aurora Black, a defence-focused version of its software-defined satellite line with onboard anti-jamming and resistance to GPS spoofing. SpaceX has the classified USSF-153 mission set to fly on Falcon 9 from Vandenberg on Thursday morning, its fifth national-security launch of the year.

[ 02 / 6 items ]

The headlines

01

Eutelsat expands OneWeb order to 669 Airbus-built satellites

AIR ETL

Eutelsat signed an Authorisation to Proceed with Airbus Defence and Space in Paris for 229 additional OneWeb satellites, on top of the 440 already on order, bringing Airbus's total new-generation OneWeb build to 669 spacecraft manufactured at its Toulouse facility. The batch will progressively replace early OneWeb satellites reaching the end of their operational life and adds advanced digital channelisers and hosted-payload capacity, and CEO Jean-François Fallacher said the first satellites from the 440 are due for delivery and launch soon, with IRIS² to bring further capacity.

02

Airbus starts IRIS² LEO satellite build for Eutelsat and SpaceRISE

AIR ETL

Airbus Defence and Space signed the initial contract with Eutelsat, which leads the LEO segment for the SpaceRISE consortium, to design and build the first layer of Europe's IRIS² sovereign constellation, at least 66 satellites for delivery in 2029. Airbus will produce the platforms and integrate the spacecraft at Toulouse with payloads from Thales Alenia Space, delivering military Ka-band capacity as what Airbus calls the sovereign pillar of the EU program.

03

Firefly signs Swedish Space Corporation for two Alpha launches from Esrange

FLY

Firefly Aerospace announced a multi-launch agreement with Swedish Space Corporation for two Alpha rocket missions from Sweden's Esrange Space Center, targeted no earlier than 2028, serving Swedish national security customers and additional commercial rideshare payloads. Swedish Space Corporation is taking full payload capacity on both flights as the partners finish pad construction at Launch Complex 3C, where the launch control center, payload processing facility, integration building, tracking and security systems are already in place.

04

Arianespace books 10 more Ariane 64 missions, six for Amazon Leo

SpaceX

Arianespace disclosed at the International Space Summit that it booked 10 additional Ariane 64 launches, including six new missions for Amazon Leo, the company's broadband constellation, adding to a manifest the company is using to argue for higher annual Ariane 6 flight pace. The order strengthens Arianespace's case with European industry and governments as it seeks investment to lift production beyond current planned rates.

05

The Exploration Company books an Ariane 6 launch for its Nyx demonstration mission

The Exploration Company has booked an Ariane 6 launch for its Nyx demonstration mission under ESA's ALADDIN cargo programme, European Spaceflight reported on September 10, two days after the company closed the Series C round that funds the reusable cargo capsule.

06

Eutelsat and OroraTech sign to host 48 thermal infrared payloads on future OneWeb satellites

ETL

Eutelsat and Germany's OroraTech announced a partnership at the International Space Summit under which OroraTech will reserve space aboard Eutelsat's future OneWeb low Earth orbit satellites to host 48 thermal infrared payloads, with options for 48 more, expanding its wildfire-detection network from orbit. The deal is supported by the French and German governments as part of Franco-German space cooperation; Eutelsat CEO Jean-François Fallacher said it shows the value of embarking third-party payloads on its satellites, and OroraTech CEO Martin Langer called it a move "from satellites to infrastructure."

[ 03 / +15 / -28 ]

Market pulse

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

Gainers+15
Decliners-28
Big mover GLW-12.3%

FLY: Firefly Aerospace announced a multi-launch agreement with Swedish Space Corporation for two Alpha rocket missions from Sweden's Esrange Space Center, targeted no earlier than.

AssetSnapshotMoveTrend
FLYFirefly Aerospace$22.14+4.8%
SATLSatellogic$4.97+3.8%
SPCEVirgin Galactic$3.025+3.6%
GLWCorning$145.99-12.3%
APHAmphenol$79.36-5.4%
ATROAstronics$70.31-5.0%
[ 04 / 6 tracked ]

Launch watch

Schedule and countdowns as recorded in the 2026-09-10 edition.

Zhuque-2E Block 2

LandSpace · Zhuque-2E Block 2 · Launch Area 96A · Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

Gravity-1

Orienspace Technology · Gravity-1 · Yellow Sea (launch location 5) · Haiyang Oriental Spaceport

[ 05 / 5 in window ]

Filings

[ End of Issue 074 ]

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