A recently established collaboration between more than 20 European space sector companies has been assembled in response to a European Commission call for tenders entitled “New Space solutions for long-term availability of reliable, secure, cost-effective space based connectivity.”
The consortium, known as New Symphonie, is being led by UNSEENLABS and Euroconsult and was established specifically for the call, which has been launched by the European Commission with assistance by from its Directorate General Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS).
The New Symphonie boasts an extensive European footprint with 22 members from no less than 8 different countries, bringing a multi-national approach to its European core. The grouping has New Space at its heart, with the majority of members representing agile, responsive and commercially minded small and medium sized businesses.
Coordinated by UNSEENLABS, currently operating a constellation of four satellites on-orbit (25 additional satellites projected for 2025) processing and delivering geolocation and monitoring data as-a-service to clients worldwide, in partnership with Euroconsult, a leading global strategy consulting and market intelligence firm, specializing in the space sector and satellite enabled verticals.
In her State of the Union address of 2020, European Commission President von der Leyen stressed the importance of secure connectivity. With the EU economy and society undergoing a continuous digital transformation and both geopolitical and cybersecurity threats on the increase, the need for secure and resilient global connectivity has never been greater.
The Commission’s tender aims to identify and assess new disruptive ideas for moving from GOVSATCOM to a secure space connectivity system and tap into the exciting potential of the commercial space ecosystem, in order to define an innovative EU Space-based Global Secure Connectivity System that can deliver communication services for governmental and non-governmental users. The procurement will award up to two contracts of six months duration, each with a maximum value of 1.4 million euros, with award criteria assessing the degree of innovation and inclusion of leading-edge technologies, as well as aspects such technical quality and originality of response.
The New Symphonie consortium has expressed confidence in producing the most innovative system design solution and the most credible business case, leveraging Euroconsult’s expertise and experience in SATCOM business cases, combined with UNSEENLABS’ proven ability to deliver operational services and mobilize investors for commercial, newspace ventures.
Clément and Jonathan GALIC, Co-founders and respective CEO and CTO of UNSEENLABS, said, “We are delighted to offer a credible, affordable and disruptive vision, with a purposeful but pragmatic step by step approach matching the European Commission’s expectations.”
Pacôme REVILLON, Euroconsult Group’s CEO, said, “Each member of New Symphonie is a recognized leader in its business field, and as a whole the consortium is greater than the sum of its members, ready to contribute to a more sovereign and autonomous E.U, as well as provide socioeconomic benefits to its 450 million citizens.”
The consortium name is derived from Symphonie, which was the first operational communication satellite launched in 1974 as a part of a Franco-German agreement. Symphonie was a forerunner for the subsequent French and German national communication satellite programs that altogether permitted the European geostationary satellite industry to evolve into a sovereign industry.
Almost 50 years later, New Symphonie have responded to the European Commission call to propose an ambitious system of multi-orbit satellite systems to provide reliable, secure and cost-effective connectivity solutions to European governments and commercial entities globally.
The full list of New Symphonie collaborators represents a large, pan-European mix of organizations; AEROSPACELAB (BE), ANYWAVES (FR), AVIO (IT), CAILABS (FR), DE-CIX (DE), EXOLAUNCH (DE), EXOTRAIL (FR), FRESNEL ALLIANCE (FR), GOMSPACE (DK), GREENERWAVE (FR), INTEGRASYS (ES), KSAT (NO), LOFT ORBITAL (FR), QEST ANTENNA TECHNOLOGY (DE), SATCONSULT (FR), SECURE-IC (FR), SENER (ES), SITAEL (IT), TESAT (DE), TRANSATEL (FR). The tender outcome is set to be announced on within the last quarter of 2021.