SES Taps K2 Space to Build meoSphere MEO Satellite Network

SES has announced meoSphere, a medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite network targeted for operation by 2030. The first phase will pair SES-developed software-defined payloads, manufactured in Luxembourg, with 28 satellite platforms built by K2 Space.

meoSphere will orbit at approximately 8,000 kilometers above Earth across four inclined orbital planes with seven satellites per plane. Each satellite will deliver 20 kW of power. The network will be compatible with Europe's IRIS2 program and is designed for government, mobility, and telecommunications markets.

Space is the invisible backbone of the global data economy and national security, says Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES. Together with K2 Space and other space partners, we're building meoSphere as essential infrastructure-constructed faster, designed to handle massive data demands globally, and built to support the secure, resilient sovereign networks that our global government allies depend on.

The meoSphere partnership with SES is a clear validation of K2's mission to build the highest power satellites on orbit to realize our partners' and customers' ambitions in space, says Karan Kunjur, Co-Founder and CEO of K2 Space. We're incredibly proud to partner in this effort with SES, a longstanding and forward-leaning space industry leader who shares our commitment to building new, efficient space architectures at speed and scale.

Over the next three years, SES plans to launch a series of MEO pathfinder missions with K2 Space to test satellite bus and payload components in orbit ahead of full-scale deployment. The initiative is included in SES's previously announced capital expenditure guidance for 2026.

Technical Specifications

meoSphere will support optical intersatellite links (OISLs) enabling satellite-to-satellite communication at up to 100 Gbps, edge computing and storage for local data processing, and user terminal speeds of up to 1 Gbps using flat-panel electronically steerable antennas and up to 4 Gbps using parabolic antennas. The network will be 5G-NTN and 3GPP compliant.

For government customers, the network's transparent payload architecture will allow sovereign customers to operate their own waveforms and modems, including in military Ka-Band spectrum. For mobility customers in aviation and maritime, meoSphere is designed to deliver high-throughput connectivity across ocean routes. For telecommunications operators, the network will offer a 5G-NTN connectivity layer with path diversity and extended network reach.

SES says it intends to maintain a dual supply chain across the Atlantic and will use a mix of commercial and public-private approaches to manage financial risk. Network scaling beyond the initial 28 satellites will be determined by market demand.

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