ORTUCCHIO, Italy, (Reuters) - A space centre in the heart of Italy is set to host the main control site for the low-orbit IRIS² (pronounced 'Iris squared') EU satellite constellation, Italy's industry minister said on Monday.
The Fucino Space Centre, close to the town of l'Aquila and one of the world's largest space centres for civilian use, will be expanded to include control operations for IRIS², Adolfo Urso told a press conference.
The centre already manages the European satellite positioning and navigation system Galileo. IRIS² is designed to compete with Elon Musk's Starlink and Jeff Bezos' Kuiper.
It is an array of up to 170 satellites that will secure communications for European Union governments and open new commercial broadband services to under-served areas between 2025 and 2027.
"IRIS² will be the European answer to low-Earth-orbit constellations, which are becoming the future of telecoms," said Franco Ongaro, Chief Space Business Officer for Italian aerospace and defence conglomerate Leonardo.
The Fucino site is owned by Telespazio, jointly controlled 67%-33% by Leonardo and France's Thales respectively.
"It [IRIS²] is a critical [piece of] infrastructure for the country, as it enables a series of operations relevant to aspects of national security," Telespazio CEO Luigi Pasquali said.
The deal will be formally announced by the European Commission in coming days, Urso said, including two other centres to be located in Toulouse, France, and in Luxembourg.
Urso added that 50 million euros ($54 million) would be invested and 200 new jobs created at the Fucino centre. Ongaro added that the EU is expected to assign the first contracts for IRIS² as soon as this year.
The EU has pledged that 30% of the EU-funded part of IRIS², which is worth 2.4 billion euros, will be allocated to small firms.