SES has announced plans for meoSphere, a Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite network targeted for operation by 2030.
The program involves a collaboration with K2 Space to develop an initial 28 high-power satellites. These satellites will orbit at approximately 8,000 kilometres above Earth, each providing 20 kilowatts of power.
The network will use software-defined payloads developed by SES in Luxembourg that are designed to scale based on market demand, with a system architecture that SES says will allow it to offer multi-orbit systems by combining MEO coverage with Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geostationary Orbit (GEO) constellations.
Data speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) will be supported using Electronically Steerable Antennas (ESA). For trunking applications using parabolic antennas, speeds can reach up to 4 Gbps. SES plans to offer standard terminal sizes of 50 by 50 centimetres and 25 by 25 centimetres for mobility, fixed data, and governmental applications.
The satellites will also feature Optical Intersatellite Links (OISLs), enabling direct satellite-to-satellite communication. This technology supports data relay of up to 100 Gbps and should improve network resilience by ensuring traffic can land in secure gateways.
In addition, the network is designed to be 5G Non-Terrestrial Network (5G-NTN) compliant, allowing for integration with terrestrial mobile networks, and will be designed to be compatible with the IRIS2 program in Europe.
SES says it plans to launch a series of pathfinder missions over the next three years to test and validate the satellite bus and payload components in orbit.
