An Oxford-headquartered spacetech startup says it's gearing up to manufacture up to 200 satellites a year, as it looks to offer European governments and businesses an alternative communication channel to Elon Musk’s Starlink.
Open Cosmos is launching a satellite network, called ConnectedCosmos, that will provide sovereign communication as an alternative to “transcontinental mega-constellations”, the startup said.
The startup, founded in 2015, designs, builds and operates satellites that collect critical data to address global challenges like connectivity and climate change.
Founder and CEO Rafel Jordà Siquier said it was gearing up to build up to 200 satellites a year, from its main hub in Harwell, near Oxford, according to the Daily Telegraph.
He told the Daily Telegraph: “We have the ability to deliver up to 150, soon close to 200 satellites per year. In Harwell in particular, we now have the capacity for manufacturing on average a satellite every three days.”
The startup is pitching its offering as a European alternative to European businesses and governments, which use Starlink, the satellite network developed by Musk's spaceflight firm SpaceX.
The startup's plans also come amid EU officials having reservations about its reliance on Starlink, which has been used by Ukrainian civilians, government and military since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, given its concentration of power in the hands of one individual.
Siquier said: “ConnectedCosmos represents a leap forward for Europe in building a resilient, secure and autonomous connectivity capability - giving nations and partners a reliable alternative for true sovereignty in orbit.
"By combining secure space-based communications with real-time Earth Observation intelligence, we are moving beyond connectivity alone and delivering actionable resilience.
"This combination is what separates us from the crowd - adding the extra layer of context and insight to transform our offering into a unique service.
“In a world where infrastructure can be disrupted, jammed, or compromised, our constellation ensures that critical data remains secure, trusted, and immediately usable. With ConnectedCosmos, we are delivering to the world an alternative that matches technological excellence with strategic autonomy.”
Open Cosmos, which has expanded into Portugal, and Spain, has secured contracts worth tens of millions of pounds.
Its investors include ETF Partners, Accenture Ventures and Wise founder Taavet Hinrikus and has raised over $63m in total.
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