When critical SATCOM infrastructure is built for regional resilience, depending on a single commercial satellite operator creates an unacceptable single point of failure. Europe learned this lesson early, and it’s why the push for digital sovereignty in space has become non-negotiable. As SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh framed it, secure satellite communications are no longer a utility, but a fundamental requirement for strategic sovereignty, resilience, and continuity planning.

Recognizing this, even countries outside the European Union are rapidly aligning themselves with Europe’s sovereign communications perimeter. In March 2026, Norway and Iceland formally integrated into Europe’s secure satellite framework, signing up for both the GOVSATCOM service and the €10 billion-plus IRIS² satellite constellation. They joined the 27 EU member states in rapidly consolidating Europe’s “perimeter of trust.” 

Yet behind these high-level policy goals lies a massive operational web. Connecting Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), and Geostationary Orbit (GEO) constellations within IRIS² isn’t just a space deployment problem; it is also a massive integration challenge on the ground. One that must be addressed through standards and operational automation.

• The greatest technical challenge for IRIS² might be lying on the ground, not in space
• Why the ground segment must become software-defined
• Translating open standards into operational building blocks for GOVSATCOM and IRIS²
• Unlocking sovereign connectivity and IRIS² ecosystem growth

The greatest technical challenge for IRIS² might be lying on the ground, not in space

Key takeaway: The hard part is no longer launching capacity; it is making different systems work together. If integration stays tied to hardware, the ecosystem stays slow and fragmented.

As Europe pushes to operationalize IRIS², the program has been fraught with challenges: complex multi-consortium negotiations, shifting hardware specifications, multi-billion-euro budgetary pressures, and looming deployment delays.

The industry is learning a brutal lesson in real time: you cannot build an agile, multi-provider sovereign network if your integration logic is welded to the hardware.

If Europe tries to solve these integration challenges through proprietary hardware or point-to-point technical fixes, the system will stay fragmented. Hardware deployment cycles are inherently slow; true operational readiness and tactical resilience require an immediate shift to open, software-defined integration. This is precisely where the bidding consortia for the IRIS² Ground Segment Service Lot must focus. 

This software push is strictly conditioned by the scale and operational complexity of IRIS². Traditional procurement models that rely on binding 5-year agreements with static long-term milestones are obsolete before the ink dries, particularly when we simply cannot predict what automation and AI will look like in 2027.

  What GOVSATCOM, IRIS², and SpaceRISE each do

    To understand how these overlapping initiatives interact, it helps to isolate their distinct operational roles:

Why the ground segment must become software-defined

Key takeaway: Operational readiness now depends on software, not just physical assets. The ground segment has to handle service orchestration, monitoring, and access control across many providers.

Instead of rebuilding every system around a single, monolithic stack, the winning approach establishes a secure mediation layer. This layer exposes standardized northbound interfaces to authorized users and hubs, while translating those commands southbound into the proprietary APIs of satellite and service providers.

In practice, this means offloading core functions such as service ordering, provisioning, capacity selection, monitoring, alarm handling, and lifecycle management out of hardware silos and into software. By mapping product models and business processes across the physical GOVSATCOM Hubs, host BSS/OSS networks, and third-party satellite systems, this layer removes the need for complete stack alignment.

The physical operational centers—the GOVSATCOM Hubs—cannot afford bespoke integrations for every network they touch. They require a unified interface to query, order, and manage services under strict access control. This standards-based approach lowers the entry barrier for new providers, transforming a fragmented ecosystem into a unified, operationally agile network from day one. Bolting multi-provider orchestration on later is a recipe for friction, delays, and costly workarounds. 

Translating open standards into operational building blocks for GOVSATCOM and IRIS²

Key takeaway:  Standards matter when they reduce friction between systems that were never designed to align. That is where the abstract work turns into something deployable.

While procurement models struggle to keep pace, the physical reality of modern threats demands immediate, hardened interoperability. If secure satellite connectivity is to protect governments, operators, and critical infrastructure at scale, the industry cannot treat integration as a secondary phase of deployment. The software-defined ground segment is an immediate operational necessity. 

That is the space we increasingly explore and occupy with our work at Amartus.

Translating open standards into the European Space Agency’s PSID project

Through our collaboration with SES Techcom and CGI on the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Pooling and Sharing Interface Definition (PSID) project, we are actively defining the open, standardized interfaces that make multi-provider satcom models operationally viable. Having completed Phase 1 in April 2025, our ongoing work in Phase 2, within the ESA ARTES 4S framework, focuses on delivering concrete operational building blocks designed for direct applicability to institutional programs such as EUSPA’s GOVSATCOM program and the SpaceRISE-led IRIS² Ground Segment.

How intelligent B2B2X automation bridges standards and legacy systems

The core challenge of this work is not conceptual; it is highly structural. It requires translating complex, multi-provider network operations into predictable, automated workflows. This is where our intelligent orchestrator, nBrace™, translates policy requirements into technical reality. Sitting directly atop existing Ground Segment BSS/OSS architectures, nBrace™ serves as a secure mediation layer. 

Northbound, it exposes standardized TM Forum Open APIs and Mplify LSO interfaces to the physical GOCSATCOM Hubs, allowing authorized users to query capacity, request quotes, and place orders. Southbound, it translates those standardized requests into the proprietary APIs, legacy Network Management Systems (NMS), and specific satellite domain controllers used by individual commercial operators.

Rather than forcing every commercial satcom provider or terrestrial telecom partner to completely overhaul their core IT infrastructure—a process that introduces immense costs and integration delays—nBrace™ dynamically maps differences in the software layer.

To make this interoperability frictionless, the gateway maintains dynamic mappings across three distinct operational layers:

• • Product Models: Aligning commercial bandwidth and beam configurations (such as those used in SES’s MEO O3b mPOWER or Eutelsat OneWeb’s LEO fleets) with standardized sovereign service definitions.
  • API Architectures: Bridging open-standard TM Forum/Mplify calls with proprietary vendor microservices and legacy operational interfaces.
  • Business Processes: Normalizing multi-provider lifecycles for address validation, real-time quoting, service activation, automated alarm management, and trouble ticketing.

This technical architecture is backed by years of hands-on delivery. We have historically led the TM Forum SATCOM Catalyst initiatives, designing and proving TM Forum ODA-compliant architectures that successfully bridge the gap between terrestrial telecom networks and non-geostationary satellite infrastructures. 

Unlocking sovereign connectivity and IRIS² ecosystem growth

By implementing a standardized, prebuilt automation layer, we eliminate the need for high-risk custom development, enforce strict, role-based access control across trust boundaries, and drastically lower the barrier to entry for new satellite partners.

In an era where communication networks must adapt to geopolitical shifts in real time, this software-centric orchestration is how Europe turns a fragmented sky of proprietary systems into a unified, sovereign connectivity engine, delivering secure communications for every citizen and institution while opening clear, profitable opportunities for commercial providers to join and scale within the IRIS² ecosystem.

FAQs

1. What is IRIS²?

IRIS² is the European Union’s secure satellite connectivity program. It is designed to support resilient communications for governments, critical infrastructure, and other authorized users. The program combines strategic sovereignty goals with multi-orbit satellite infrastructure.

2. Why is interoperability important for IRIS²?

IRIS² will only work at scale if different satellite, ground, and service systems can communicate through standardized interfaces. Interoperability reduces integration friction, speeds up onboarding, and makes multi-provider service delivery more practical. Without it, the ecosystem risks becoming fragmented and slow to operate.

3. What role do standards play in IRIS²?

Standards provide the common language needed to connect different systems securely and consistently. They help align product models, APIs, and service processes across multiple providers. In IRIS², that makes it easier to combine public and commercial capabilities without forcing every participant onto the same stack.

4. Which countries are involved in IRIS²?

IRIS² is a European programme, so it primarily involves EU member states, with Norway and Iceland also joining the secure connectivity framework. It is built around cooperation between governments, public institutions, satellite operators, and industrial partners. That mix is what makes interoperability and common standards so important.

5. What is the architecture challenge in IRIS²?

The main challenge is not only building satellites, but also connecting many different systems into one secure service environment. That means the architecture needs software-defined orchestration, access control, and mediation between platforms. Interoperability is the key requirement that makes this possible.

6. How does Amartus fit into IRIS²?

Amartus is an example of the kind of company that helps make interoperability operational. Its work focuses on standards-based mediation between satellite, ground, and commercial systems, so services can be requested, managed, and monitored across different environments. In practice, that helps turn IRIS² from a concept into something easier to integrate and use.