SES and K2 Space have entered a strategic collaboration to advance the development of SES’s future medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite network. Development will take place in Europe and the USA.
SES operates global multi-orbit networks, including the O3b mPOWER MEO network. K2 Space will co-develop future network infrastructure and technologies.
An on-orbit mission in the first quarter of 2026 will be the first step towards rolling out SES’s future MEO network. This marks a shift in the traditional satellite industry approach, moving from legacy waterfall models to an iterative process that supports continuous innovation and responsiveness to market needs.
SES’s future MEO network will be designed to support multi-mission capabilities such as hosted payloads, space situational awareness, direct-to-device data relay and sovereign services, while enabling reliable communications for mobility applications and resilient enterprise backhaul.
Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES, said: “Our future MEO network will evolve through agile innovation cycles. By collaborating with K2 Space and other trusted innovative partners, we’re combining our solutions development experience and operational depth with NewSpace agility to develop a flexible, software-defined network that adapts to customer requirements.”
Karan Kunjur, CEO of K2 Space, said: “This collaboration is about rethinking how advanced space networks are developed. SES brings extensive operational expertise, and we bring the speed and flexibility of a technology startup. Together, we’re building the foundation for a network that is scalable and adaptable to a broad range of applications.”
