A news item from Paris of particular Finnish interest: ICEYE will soon launch on Ariane

The world’s satellite launch market is in flux as new rockets enter the picture. A German rocket was launched from Norway, and America’s SpaceX is shifting small-satellite launches from Falcon 9 onto the still somewhat uncertain Starship.

In this unstable situation, Finnish radar-satellite company ICEYE has taken a decision that is significant from a European perspective: it announced a preliminary cooperation agreement with Arianespace today at the Paris space summit.

This means ICEYE satellites could in future be launched on the Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket has recently been marketed especially to public-sector and institutional customers in European countries.

At the same time ICEYE is radically expanding its satellite production. It currently builds about 50 satellites a year, but the target is 100 in 2027. Putting those into orbit will require many more launch opportunities – a dedicated rideshare on Ariane 6 for ICEYE satellites (as below) is not a bad idea.