A new venture by European space companies including Airbus, Leonardo, and Thales is reportedly in the works, and these three companies are looking to collaborate on a new satellite project that would rival Elon Musk's Starlink. For many years, Starlink has asserted its dominance in the low-Earth orbit (LEO) where it has slowly filled up the space with its massive operations for its satellite internet service.
Currently, there are different European satellite industry leaders who have worked together to deliver a larger-scale service despite facing significant losses over the years, all looking to go against SpaceX's Starlink.
Europe's Airbus, Leonardo, Thales to Form a Super Satellite Group
Reuters reported that sources familiar with this latest venture pointed out to European space firms Airbus, Leonardo, and Thales are now banding together to create a "new joint space company" to rival Starlink. It was revealed that this super satellite group would focus on the missile maker model known as "MBDA" to be the basis for this European satellite venture.
The sources claimed that these European companies are still in the early stages of their talks and conceptualization of the project, focusing on this collaborative effort that would combine satellite assets instead of naming one company to lead the charge.
Roberto Cingolani, Leonardo's CEO, was the only one to have confirmed that these talks are already focusing on the technical discussions behind the project, also confirming their focus on the MBDA model. That being said Airbus and Thales reportedly declined to comment on the project.
'Project Bromo' to Go Against Elon Musk's Starlink Dominance
Despite its early stage, the project already has a codename within Airbus called "Project Bromo," and it will focus on the MBDA technology which is owned by Airbus, Leonardo, and BAE Systems. That being said, these talks follow the previous restructuring claims by Airbus where seven percent of its Defence and Space Division would be axed, consisting of around 2,500 job cuts by mid-2026.
Additionally, Project Bromo from the trio of European space companies would reportedly take years before it arrives.
Elon Musk and its Starlink Satellite Network
Elon Musk and SpaceX have since seen significant success in Starlink's satellite services, particularly as the company has had successive missions over the past years to build its massive constellation. Earlier this June, SpaceX embarked on one of its most historic launches for Starlink which focused on a doubleheader launch that had two Falcon 9 rockets delivering two sets of satellites to orbit.
Because of its wide availability and over thousands of satellites already present in orbit, Starlink has been the top-regarded service for global internet access and has proved to be significantly useful in times of conflicts and disasters. Ukraine and Gaza have since seen SpaceX Starlink helping them out with their connectivity problems as terrestrial infrastructure was either destroyed or out of commission.
On the other hand, SpaceX has also been in partnership with the United States government, under the Biden administration, to offer its satellite service to Hurricane Helene victims for free.
Starlink's global fame significantly put it in the crosshairs of industry rivals as they look to challenge its dominance, with European space companies now banding together to deliver "Project Bromo" and reinforce EU's satellite presence in space.
