Airbus-built SpainSat NG-II launched

Image copyright Airbus
 
The launch of this second satellite completes the SpainSat NG programme, the most ambitious space project in Spain’s history and the most advanced government communications system in Europe. The programme has been led and promoted for the Ministry of Defence by the Spanish operator Hisdesat.

It is expected that in the spring of 2026 they will jointly serve the Spanish Armed Forces, international organisations such as the European Commission in the GOVSATCOM programme, or NATO, and other allied governments.

This second satellite, operated by Hisdesat for the Spanish Armed Forces will ensure Europe’s most advanced secure communications, together with its twin satellite launched in January and already in orbit. 

Following the completion of integration, testing, and validation at Airbus facilities in Toulouse, the satellite was shipped in September to Florida, where it was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket.

"Secure satellite communications play an increasingly important role in operating effectively in multiple fields, including military operations and humanitarian relief and rescue missions. With SpainSat NG, Spain will be at the forefront of Europe and among one of the few countries in the world with access to the most secure communications networks, providing our country and its allies with sovereignty and strategic autonomy," said Raquel González Sola, Head of Space Systems at Airbus in Spain.

Based on an Airbus Eurostar Neo platform, the approximately seven metre, six ton SpainSat NG-II spacecraft, carries an innovative payload including an X-band active receive and transmit antenna system, providing the equivalent functionality of 16 traditional antennas. 

It guarantees reliable communications for military and government missions and can adapt and change its coverage up to 1,000 times per second. Additionally, the active antennas system can eliminate and geolocate jamming attempts w ith high accuracy and is hardened to protect against potential nuclear electromagnetic pulses in orbit. The satellite payload, representing around half of the entire satellite, was designed and manufactured by the Spanish space industry, led by Airbus.

Key innovative technologies, in particular active antennas on the SpainSat NG satellites were developed as part of the Pacis 3 ESA-Hisdesat Partnership through the ESA ARTES programme and supported by the Spanish Space Agency.