Astronomy:Atlantic Constellation

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Short description: European constellation of Earth observation satellites


Atlantic Constellation
ManufacturerOpen Cosmos, ICEYE, Satlantis
Country of origin23px European Space Agency
 European Union
 Spain
File:Flag of Portugal (official).svg Portugal
 United Kingdom
Applicationscoastal surveillance,
environmental management,
climate monitoring
Production
Launched4
Maiden launch2025

The Atlantic Constellation (Constelación Atlántica) is a satellite constellation of Earth observation satellites under development by Spain and Portugal, funded by the European Union (EU)[1][2][3][4] and coordinated by the European Space Agency (ESA),[5] with additional contributions by the United Kingdom (UK), via the UK Space Agency.[6][7] The constellation, focused on coastal surveillance, environmental management, and climate monitoring,[8] will consist of high and very high resolution sub-spectral and multi-spectral Earth observation satellites[9] with revisit times of 24 hours, thrice shorter than Copernicus.[10]

Satellites

Garai precursors

In 2025 and 2026, the Spanish company Satlantis launched two precursor satellites: Garai A and Garai B named after Basque explorer Juan de Garai. The satellites are testing the multispectral instruments ISIM-90 and ISIM-170.[11][12][13][14][15]

Spain

Spain originally planned to contribute eight satellites as its component of the constellation (ESCA). The contract to build these was awarded to the UK-based Open Cosmos in October 2025. These satellites, expected to be delivered by 2027, will be equipped with high-resolution multispectral optical cameras, GNSS reflectometry receivers, AIS receivers, and Internet of Things connectivity.[8] The Spanish satellites will be named by students of Spanish primary and secondary schools.[16] In May 2026, Open Cosmos presented the final design of the eight satellites at an event in Sevilla.[17]

In early 2026, Spanish government approved additional €325 million for development of three further satellites as part of Atlantic Constellation expanded satellite programme ESCA+, bringing the Spanish contribution to 11.[18]

UK

The UK will launch its single satellite, Atlantic Constellation Pathfinder also built by Open Cosmos, to the same orbital plane as three of the Portuguese spacecraft in 2026. This is expected to increase the revisit frequency for the first orbital plane by 33%.[6][10] Open Cosmos used its ESA-supported mission MANTIS (November 2023 to October 2025) for de-risking technologies for Atlantic Constellation Pathfinder.[19]

Portugal

Portugal plans to contribute other eight satellites. In addition, Portugal also includes its air force-operated, ICEYE-constructed synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites within Atlantic Constellation.[20][21][22] The first of the Portuguese ICEYE satellites was launched on 30 March 2026 aboard Falcon 9's Transporter-16 rideshare mission.[23][24][25] The second satellite, and first wholly owned by the Portuguese Air Force, was launched on 3 May 2026 on Falcon 9's CAS500-2 rideshare mission.[26][27][28]

Launches

Atlantic Constellation satellites
Name COSPAR ID Role Operator Manufacturer Launch date Launch vehicle Flight
Garai A 2025-009AC Precursor  Spain Satlantis 14 January 2025, 19:09 UTC Falcon 9 Transporter-12
Garai B 2026-067AZ Precursor  Spain Satlantis 30 March 2026, 11:02 UTC Falcon 9 Transporter-16
ICEYE-X? SAR File:Flag of Portugal (official).svg Portugal ICEYE
ICEYE-X? SAR File:Flag of Portugal (official).svg Portugal ICEYE 3 May 2026, 07:00 UTC Falcon 9 CAS500-2

See also

References

  1. ↑ Parsonson, Andrew (2024-05-24). "ESA Awards Contracts for Spain’s Contribution to Atlantic Constellation" (in en-US). https://europeanspaceflight.com/esa-awards-contracts-for-spains-contribution-to-atlantic-constellation/. 
  2. ↑ Atalayar (2022-11-07). "Spain makes its way into ESA with Constelación Atlántica, Arrakihs and Spainsat NG" (in en). https://www.atalayar.com/en/articulo/new-technologies-innovation/spain-makes-its-way-esa-constelacion-atlantica-arrakihs-and-spainsat-ng/20221107120159158978.html. 
  3. ↑ "New Space Agenda Atlantic Constellation" (in en). https://www.newspaceportugal.org/en/atividades/atlantic-constellation. 
  4. ↑ Charoux, Valerie (2022-11-06). "Portugal’s Atlantic Constellation" (in en). https://www.portugalbusinessesnews.com/post/atlantic-constellation. 
  5. ↑ Parsonson, Andrew (2023-09-22). "Spain Partner with ESA to Build €80M Atlantic Constellation" (in en-US). https://europeanspaceflight.com/spain-partner-with-esa-to-build-80m-euro-atlantic-constellation/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Parsonson, Andrew (2023-11-22). "The UK to Contribute More Than £3M to the Atlantic Constellation" (in en-US). https://europeanspaceflight.com/the-uk-to-contribute-more-than-3m-to-the-atlantic-constellation/. 
  7. ↑ "Space for Our Future: UK aims to join Atlantic Constellation with funding for new Earth observation satellite" (in en). https://www.gov.uk/government/news/space-for-our-future-uk-aims-to-join-atlantic-constellation-with-funding-for-new-earth-observation-satellite. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Parsonson, Andrew (2025-10-17). "Open Cosmos to Build Spanish Component of the Atlantic Constellation" (in en-US). https://europeanspaceflight.com/open-cosmos-to-build-spanish-component-of-the-atlantic-constellation/. 
  9. ↑ "Atlantic Constellation" (in en). https://www.ceiia.com/news/atlantic-constellation. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Atlantic Constellation Pathfinder Satellite Mission Summary | CEOS Database". https://database.eohandbook.com/database/missionsummary.aspx?missionID=1454. 
  11. ↑ Sarah (2025-01-17). "GARAI A SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED" (in es). https://www.satlantis.com/garai-a-successfully-launched/. 
  12. ↑ InfoEspacial. "Satlantis pone en órbita el microsatélite Garai B, pieza clave en el desarrollo de la Constelación Atlántica" (in es). https://www.infoespacial.com/texto-diario/mostrar/5827332/satlantis-pone-orbita-microsatelite-garai-b-pieza-clave-desarrollo-constelacion-atlantica. 
  13. ↑ "GARAI". https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/garai. 
  14. ↑ "Launch of Garai A, the new satellite from Satlantis" (in es). https://emprende.enagas.es/en/launch-of-garai-a-the-new-satellite-from-satlantis/. 
  15. ↑ "Garai A, B" (in en). https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/garai-a.htm. 
  16. ↑ Aeroespacial, Actualidad (2025-11-07). "España invita a los estudiantes a nombrar los ocho satélites que aportará a la Constelación Atlántica" (in es). https://actualidadaeroespacial.com/espana-invita-a-los-estudiantes-a-nombrar-los-ocho-satelites-que-aportara-a-la-constelacion-atlantica/. 
  17. ↑ Apesteguía, Esther (2026-05-14). "Open Cosmos presenta el diseño definitivo de su satélite para la Constelación Atlántica" (in es). https://fly-news.es/industria/open-cosmos-presenta-diseno-definitivo-satelite-constelacion-atlantica/. 
  18. ↑ Parsonson, Andrew (2026-04-01). "Spain Approves €325 Million ESCA+ Expansion of Atlantic Constellation" (in en-US). https://europeanspaceflight.com/spain-approves-e325-million-esca-expansion-of-atlantic-constellation/. 
  19. ↑ Traviss, Megan (2025-12-18). "MANTIS: A small satellite with outsized impact" (in en-GB). https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/mantis-a-small-satellite-with-outsized-impact/63918/. 
  20. ↑ "Iceye launches six new SAR satellites" (in en). 2026-03-31. https://www.janes.com/defence-intelligence-insights/defence-news-details/air/iceye-launches-six-new-sar-satellites. 
  21. ↑ WEBTEAM, FAP-. "Força Aérea Portuguesa" (in pt-PT). https://www.emfa.pt/news-5448-air-force-acquires-first-directoperation-satellite. 
  22. ↑ "ICEYE signs agreement to deliver SAR satellite capabilities to the Portuguese Air Force" (in en). https://www.iceye.com/newsroom/press-releases/iceye-signs-agreement-to-deliver-sar-satellite-capabilities-to-the-portuguese-air-force. 
  23. ↑ Cranny-Evans, Sam (2026-03-31). "ICEYE deploys 70th satellite in recent launch, including sovereign fleets for Poland and Portugal" (in en-US). https://www.calibredefence.co.uk/iceye-deploys-70th-satellite-in-recent-launch-including-sovereign-fleets-for-poland-and-portugal/. 
  24. ↑ "ICEYE sends 6 new satellites. A breakthrough in space sovereignty - Brandsit" (in en-GB). 2026-03-31. https://brandsit.pl/en/iceye-sends-6-new-satellites-a-breakthrough-in-space-sovereignty/. 
  25. ↑ "Iceye launches six new SAR satellites" (in en). 2026-03-31. https://www.janes.com/defence-intelligence-insights/defence-news-details/air/iceye-launches-six-new-sar-satellites. 
  26. ↑ S.A, Telewizja Polska. "Poland’s newest military satellite deployed in orbit" (in en). https://tvpworld.com/93052669/polands-newest-iceye-sar-satellite-reaches-orbit-after-spacex-launch. 
  27. ↑ Muczyński, Rafał (2026-05-03). "Polskie satelity radarowe POLSARIS-4 i Eycore-1 na orbicie" (in pl-PL). https://milmag.pl/polskie-satelity-radarowe-polsaris-4-i-eycore-1-na-orbicie/. 
  28. ↑ "Second Portuguese military satellite launches early this morning". 3 May 2026. https://www.portugalresident.com/second-portuguese-military-satellite-launches-early-this-morning/. 

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