Welcome to the world of booming Irish space tech. This week: Amazon battles SpaceX for Irish Ground Stations, UCD’s CubeSat Mission Advances, and why Europe’s satellite-data boom is attracting Irish startups. And more…
🛰 Amazon/Starlink tussle for Earth Stations in Ireland
Amazon and SpaceX are bringing their orbital battle to Irish soil, racing to establish ground stations to support their satellite internet services, highlighting Ireland’s growing importance in the global Space economy.
What’s happening: Amazon’s fledgling Project Kuiper launched another 27 satellites this week, bringing their total constellation to 54! SpaceX meanwhile has around 6,000 satellites in orbit and responded by shooting another 50 into Space as if to let Amazon know who’s boss. Their battle is also taking place closer to home, however.
The Irish ground station applications: Amazon has submitted an application to telecoms regulator ComReg to build a ground station at the National Space Centre in Midleton, County Cork.
54 Kuiper satellites versus 6,000 Starlinks
That would serve as a relay point for Project Kuiper’s satellite internet system, connecting their Space-based network to terrestrial internet infrastructure.
ComReg’s initial verdict: Positive. It’s unlikely to interfere with existing radio-spectrum users, according to the regulator. Public submissions are now being invited until July 18, giving communities a chance to weigh in.
Photographer Andrew McCarthy burned the lens of his remote camera for this launchpad shot of Project Kuiper’s latest launch
The stakes: SpaceX has already begun its Irish expansion, operating a ground station at Garretstown in Cork and have applied to open another in Killala, County Mayo.
The bottom line: Both companies are racing to build massive satellite networks in Space and need Earth stations. They are the critical link between satellites whizzing at 500+ kilometres up in Space and broadband connection at home.
Ireland is a popular choice for satellite relay because of its location on the edge of the Atlantic and its proximity to undersea fibre cables. One key spin-off is reduced latency and improved reliability for communities in rural areas.
Ireland has won ESA backing for a flagship science mission
Dublin-led CubeSat swarm moves forward: Ireland’s Centre for Space Research is steering a 27-satellite mission that could put the country at the centre of gamma-ray-burst astronomy.
University College Dublin has secured the green light from the ESA for COMCUBE-S, a Dublin-conceived constellation of up to 27 CubeSats that will probe the universe’s most violent explosions. Now Glasgow-based AAC Clyde Space has been hired to translate UCD’s concept into a full system design, marking the first concrete step toward an Irish-led space-science fleet.
UCD was confirmed as mission lead for the project in April 2024 when the ESA announced COMCUBE-S as one of the two winning concepts in its SysNova challenge to foster innovation.
Why it matters:
Scientific leadership: Builds directly on EIRSAT-1 heritage and keeps Prof Lorraine Hanlon’s UCD team at the forefront of high-energy astrophysics.
Industry spin-offs: Gives Irish SMEs a shot at supplying software, radiation-hardened electronics, data analysis and ground-segment services when later phases ramp up.
Talent pipeline: The Phase-A of this project alone funds new postgraduate places in Dublin; a full go-ahead would create dozens of high-tech roles.
Reputation: COMCUBE-S was one of only two winners in ESA’s SysNova Challenge, beating five other European contenders
COMCUBE-S represents a significant step forward in our ability to study gamma-ray bursts and unlock new scientific insights into the most energetic events in the universe. — Prof Lorraine Hanlon, Director, UCD Centre for Space Research
A formal “go/no-go” is due in late 2025. If green-lit, COMCUBE-S would become the largest space-science mission ever conceived in Ireland—and a magnet for home-grown talent and suppliers.
Axiom Space's Space Station Begins Taking Shape
Four astronauts blasted-off to the International Space Station last week on Axiom Mission 4, representing India, Poland and Hungary's first government missions to the ISS in over 40 years.
Why it matters: The mission isn't just about putting these countries on the map, it's part of Axiom's strategy to replace the ageing ISS with their own, fully kitted-out commercial space station by 2030.
The Future Axiom Station
The big picture: NASA intends to retire the ISS by 2030, creating a commercial opportunity that Axiom has positioned itself to capture. The company holds a 2020 agreement allowing it to attach modules to the ISS before breaking away to form its own Axiom Station.
Each private mission like AX-4 generates revenue whilst teaching Axiom how to run commercial space operations.
Their first standalone module launches in 2026, with full station operations planned by 2028
The facility will support eight permanent crew and dozens of visitors for research, manufacturing and multi-day tourism
What's next: Additional modules will arrive through the early 2030s, creating roughly the usable volume of a Boeing 747 in orbit.
The bottom line: If successful, Axiom will no longer be running shuttles to the ISS, they'll own the only commercial destination in orbit, turning them from mere ISS tenant to Space’s first landlord.
🚀 Space Briefs 🧑🚀
US companies launched 21 commercial space missions in June, a record for a single month.
SpaceX flew 15, 12 of them to build out the Starlink network.
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocketed 6 more space tourists to above the Karman Line on NS-33, bringing the New Shepard total to 70 passengers. It included the 750th person to reach Space
Europe’s first geostationary sounder satellite MTGS1 launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. It will transform weather forecasting and early warnings.
SpaceX Transporter-14 rideshare programme carried 70 payloads for small companies.
The ESA signed an agreement to potentially send astronauts and payloads to Blue Origin’s planned Orbital Reef space station.
NASA tested a new generation booster with Northrop Grumman, which exploded.
July 3: Long March 4B rocket with unknown payload takes off from Xichang, China
July 3: Russia’s Progress MS-31 cargo launch from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, carrying 2.5 tonnes of food, fuel and experiments to the ISS.
July 5: Progress MS-31 docks with ISS.
July 10: Axiom-4 undocks from ISS on way back to Earth
Satellite Data Finds Real-World Purpose
Irish space firms are well-placed to capitalise as increasingly abundant satellite data transitions from academic research to essential government decision-making tools, according to the European Space Policy Institute's latest Vision Paper.
The shift: Satellite data used to mean static images for researchers. Now, instead of just providing images, companies are now analysing that data to help governments make decisions. Brussels wants diversity tracking for climate policies. Mediterranean cities need heat mapping to protect residents. Real-time applications are all the rage.
What's driving it: The ESA is backing projects that transform satellite data into practical policy tools – from Arctic shipping routes to reconstruction efforts in war-shattered Ukraine. Precision irrigation systems are needed to respond automatically to drought. Networks protecting undersea cables linking Dublin's data centres to the world need round-the-clock monitoring.
The opportunities:
Agrifood platforms forecasting reservoir levels and reducing fertiliser waste
Biodiversity monitoring providing verified carbon credits for EU compliance
Infrastructure protection for energy and telecoms routes
Urban planning tools building climate resilience
Bottom line: Irish companies mastering the art of turning pixels into policy insights will access European funding streams, ESA partnerships, and growing private investment. The Vision Paper shows the way forward.
What's next: Horizon Europe, the EU's €95 billion research funding programme, is actively seeking teams that can translate data into actionable policy recommendations, offering substantial grants for qualifying projects.
Read the full ESPI Vision Paper here: A Policy Vision for EO
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Thanks for reading.
Until next week, here’s a stunning image from Europe’s Biomass satellite:
The Bolivian rainforest, courtesy of Europe’s Biomass satellite