European satellite company has bid $3.1bn for rival to become a challenger to Starlink with multi-orbit constellation, but still needs approval from US authorities
The European satellite company SES is set to receive unconditional approval from the European Commission for its proposed $3.1 billion of competitor Intelsat, according to unnamed sources cited by Reuters.
The report goes on to claim that their combined might would create “a major European player to rival Elon Musk’s Space X-owned Starlink”. The bid by SES for Intelsat was announced in April 2024.
SES has headquarters in at Betzdorf Castle in Luxembourg (pictured) and is looking to gain greater scale to compete better against Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper, which in every sense has been relatively slow to get off the ground. Intelsat’s headquarters are in Viriginia in the US.
Spatial awareness
The European Commission is scheduled make its decision by 10 June and, assuming Reuters has called it right, chimes with the European Union’s stated determination to reduce its reliance on US companies and achieve strategic autonomy in satellite communications.
Reuters says the combined company would have a fleet of more than 100 geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) and 26 medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites compared with Starlink’s 5,800 LEO satellites. However, according to space.com, which references Astronomer Jonathan McDowell’s website, on 30 May this year, there were 7,578 Starlink satellites in orbit, of which 7,556 are working.
SpaceX’s ambition is that the Starlink constellation will comprise up to 42,000 satellites ultimately.
The proposed deal SES/Intelsat deal was waved through last week by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, but must still gain approval from the US’ Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice.
