The European Space Agency has awarded contracts to consortiums led by Deimos and Open Cosmos to begin development of the Spanish component of the Atlantic Constellation.
In September 2023, Spain signed an agreement with ESA for the contracting and technical management of the Constelación Atlántica (Atlantic Constellation). The project was initially a partnership between Portugal and Spain, with each country contributing €40 million to develop a constellation of 16 Earth observation satellites that would be used for ocean, Earth, and climate monitoring. In November, the United Kingdom committed to contributing £3 million to the project, adding one additional satellite to the constellation.
Contracts for the consolidation phase of Spain’s eight-satellite component of the Atlantic Constellation were awarded in early April to a pair of consortiums led by Deimos and Open Cosmos Europe, the Barcelona-based subsidiary of Open Cosmos. This initial three-month phase of the project will see the contracted companies consolidate the constellation’s mission requirements in collaboration with the Spanish Space Agency as the end user and ESA as the contracting supervisor.
In addition to leading one of the consortiums in the running to build Spain’s eight satellites, the UK Space Agency has entrusted Open Cosmos with the development of its contribution to the constellation. The Open Cosmos team includes Telespazio, Hispasat, ARQUIMEA, and Leaf Space. The Deimos-led consortium includes Alén Space, Satlantis, and DHV Technology.
Following the completion of the consolidation phase, one consortium will be selected to execute the implementation phase for the eight satellites that will constitute Spain’s contribution to the Atlantic Constellation. ESA has told European Spaceflight that this decision is expected to be made by the end of June.
