Norway and Iceland set to join EU satellite programmes

The European Parliament has approved the participation of Norway and Iceland in the EU’s GovSatCom and Iris2 satellite programmes. 

GovSatCom, which began in 2026, is intended to provide secure, resilient and cost-effective satellite communications using existing EU systems. Iris2 will develop its own constellation of satellites, both for secure communications and to boost business uses such as smart-grid development, remote education and real-time data exchange in banking. It is expected to be operational by 2029.

“Norway and Iceland joining GovSatCom and Iris2 marks a significant expansion of the European space ecosystem, reinforcing the Union’s cooperation with key partners to boost collective resilience and security in secure connectivity,” a European Commission spokesperson told Science|Business.

For Norway, the primary motivation for joining is security and having the same access to secure government communication as its EU partners. “In the current geopolitical situation, secure and independent communication is essential,” Siri Martinsen, state secretary in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, told Science|Business. She also noted that the decision to join is still subject to approval in the Norwegian parliament.

For Iceland, joining the programmes means a reliable and resilient communication channel with far-away Europe, an official from the Ministry of Infrastructure told Science|Business. Access to secure, government-grade satellite communications is “absolutely crucial in times of crisis,” the official added. “The current geopolitical climate and recent incidents of sabotage involving submarine telecommunication cables in our surrounding regions have highlighted the vulnerabilities of physical infrastructure.”

Industry use

Access to the two programmes is not total, however, with Norway‘s space industry facing restrictions in sensitive areas such as launches and control of satellites. But even so, Martinsen still expects the industry to benefit from participation in the programmes. 

“[Joining the programmes] will mean that the Norwegian space industry will have a better opportunity to provide services and goods to the two programmes. It also brings our industry closer to the EU’s work on security, preparedness and technological independence in space,” she said. 

Norway’s space industry already controls assets that could be useful to the EU. Martinsen pointed to infrastructure for downloading data from polar orbits and Norway’s Arctic satellite programme, ASBM, which can already contribute to GovSatCom. 

She also highlighted the Andøya Spaceport in northern Norway, which launched a test flight for German company Isar Aerospace in 2025, and which is currently the only operational orbital launch site in continental Europe. 

The Icelandic government is still exploring whether access to the two satellite programmes can also be used for research and innovation, a possibility the official called “highly interesting.”

Should that exploration prove fruitful, Iceland could contribute to European space and satellite operations with “a unique geographic location” and “expertise in hosting high-tech data infrastructure powered entirely by renewable energy,” the official said.

The Arctic location

In its draft recommendations for the participation of the two countries in the programmes, the European Parliament noted their "strategic" location near the Arctic as particularly important for economic sectors such as telecommunications and transport. 

The Icelandic government official suggested that Iceland’s location to the northwest of Europe would allow the Iris2 programme to set up satellite communication sites in the country.

“Hosting ground infrastructure here allows for more frequent contact with the satellite constellation, which helps ensure reliable, fast and secure connectivity for critical operations, such as maritime safety and aviation, throughout the Arctic region,” the official said.

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Martinsen said that Norway’s northern location will be more useful to the EU if it lifts some of the restrictions still in place.

“This depends highly on how the two programmes develop and if the EU will open up to the use of Andøya Spaceport for launches and the use of Norwegian sites to download data and control satellites. If an Arctic secure connectivity satellite constellation is established, Norwegian infrastructure could be more relevant,” she said.

The Commission declined to comment on the importance of Norway and Iceland’s northern location. However, its spokesperson said that, by joining the programmes, the two countries would gain access to “high-tier encrypted communication services” and that these tools are “essential” for “ensuring the safety of air and maritime navigation across the north Atlantic and Arctic.”