Green light for the GovSat-2 project

On 21 January 2026, the Chamber of Deputies voted, with 57 votes in favour, to pass the draft law authorising the Government to finance the acquisition, launch and operation of the GovSat-2 government and defence communications satellite, as well as to acquire satellite capabilities.

"GovSat-2 is a strategic project that enables Luxembourg Defence to make a significant contribution to collective security and defence efforts at EU and NATO level, while offering a significant economic return for Luxembourg," said Minister of Defence Yuriko Backes.

Like GovSat-1, the first communications satellite from the LuxGovSat S.A. public-private partnership – a 50/50 joint venture between the Luxembourg Government and SES – the future GovSat-2 satellite will be placed in geostationary orbit and cover the same areas of interest, namely Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Technological developments

As with its predecessor, GovSat-2's main mission is to provide communication capabilities to Luxembourg Defence, the EU, NATO and Luxembourg's partner countries.

GovSat-2 takes into account current and future needs, technological developments, and the space environment, which is characterised by an increase in threats. The future communications satellite will therefore offer greater communications capacities and better protection against hostile attacks such as high-altitude nuclear explosions and jamming attacks.

"Current political developments highlight the importance of strengthening Europe's strategic autonomy. For the GovSat-2 programme, we have therefore given priority to European partners: the satellite will be built by the French company Thales Alenia Space, integrating Luxembourg companies into the value chain, and the satellite is expected to be launched into orbit by the European company Arianespace," emphasised Yuriko Backes.

Funding

The GovSat-2 project budget amounts to €301 million, and the financing law authorises the Government to make the following investments:

• €101 million capital increase in LuxGovSat by the Luxembourg Directorate of Defence
• €200 million for the firm acquisition of satellite communication capacity, including €180 million over the 12 years following the launch date of GovSat-2, and up to €20 million over two years for GovSat-1 capacity, pending the launch of the new satellite

In addition, there is a budget reserve of €15 million. This reserve is not a definite expenditure, but a margin of budgetary flexibility, intended more specifically to respond to any technical, operational or geopolitical contingencies inherent in the GovSat-2 programme, which will run for nearly two decades.

Finally, the law authorises the government to enter into strategic partnerships with partner countries for an amount of €500 million. This envelope does not constitute an expense for Luxembourg, but rather an accounting mechanism enabling cooperation with partners to be implemented prior to the operationalisation of GovSat-2. This mechanism is therefore budget-neutral – the article simply covers and allows for the transfer of funds from partners via the state budget in order to make GovSat-2 capacities available as soon as the satellite becomes operational.

Relevance of the project

The space domain is essential to NATO's deterrence and collective defence posture and a strategic priority for the European Union. In a rapidly changing geopolitical context, the ability to have secure and reliable communications is crucial. In addition, the armed forces' satellite communications needs will grow significantly in the coming years, both in terms of quantity and quality of service. The launch of a second communications satellite is therefore essential and necessary in terms of resilience.

"While satellites play a crucial role in military communications, navigation, command and control operations, and the transmission of strategic data, they have become priority targets in any strategy of destabilisation or asymmetric confrontation. GovSat-2 is a strategic response to these developments," concluded Minister of Defence Yuriko Backes. 

Press release by the Directorate of Defence