Spain’s Council of Ministers has approved the allocation of €325 million for the development of three Earth observation satellites that will expand the 16-satellite Atlantic Constellation.
The Constelación Atlántica (Atlantic Constellation) is a joint initiative between Spain and Portugal to develop an Earth observation constellation for environmental monitoring, coastal surveillance, and disaster management. The two countries have committed to contributing eight satellites each to form the core 16-satellite constellation.
As early as September last year, Spain had signalled plans to expand its contribution to the Atlantic Constellation with three additional satellites. During an address at the Sixth elDiario.es Economic Forum, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that the country would allocate €325 million for the expansion.
“We are going to launch, through the European Space Agency, the call for the development of the Atlantic Constellation (Constelación Atlántica) expanded satellite programme ESCA+ (Es-ca Plus),” said Sánchez. “This includes €325 million euros to build three new satellites that will send real-time data and reinforce our response capacity to extreme climate events.”
On 31 March, Spain’s Council of Ministers approved the €325 million investment as part of a broader €625 million package aimed at strengthening “Spain’s position in the strategic programmes of the European Space Agency.” The funding will be channelled through the European Space Agency (ESA), which is already supporting the implementation of Spain’s contribution to the constellation, and forms part of the €1.854 billion the country committed to the agency during ESA’s most recent Ministerial Council meeting in November 2025.
The remaining €300 million of the investment package was directed to three ESA programmes: the LEO-PNT satellite navigation system, IRIS², which ESA is implementing on behalf of the European Union, and the European Launcher Challenge, which will support PLD Space in the development of its Miura rockets.
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