Welcome to SpaceTech Ireland — your fast, Irish-first read on the space economy.

This week: Four developments underscore Ireland's growing role in space. Ubotica's AI processor completed a successful two-year orbital mission and is now embedded in commercial satellites. Réaltra secured a €1.5m contract to supply cameras for seven Ariane 6 launches. UCD landed €1m in government funding following EIRSAT-1's success. And Europe's three largest aerospace companies announced plans to merge their space units into a €6.5bn entity—a counteroffensive against American dominance that will need precisely the kind of specialised technology Irish companies are already delivering.

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October 24, 2025

Irish AI proves itself in orbit
Dublin's Ubotica has proven its AI processor works in orbit. Open Cosmos’s just completed MANTIS mission transformed satellite imagery into actionable intelligence in near real-time, and Irish technology is now embedded in the UK satellite operator’s commercial constellation.

Irish cameras become the eyes on Europe's rocket
Réaltra secured a €1.5m+ contract to supply video telemetry systems for the next seven Ariane 6 launches, building on the six HD cameras that broadcast the rocket's successful maiden flight in July.

Europe's aerospace giants unite to fight back
Airbus, Leonardo and Thales are combining their space businesses into a €6.5bn entity designed to challenge American dominance. Brussels still has to approve, but a European fightback against SpaceX’s dominance seems finally to be underway.

Government backs Ireland's space ambitions with cash
UCD secured €1m following the success of EIRSAT-1, Ireland's first satellite that proved the country could independently build and operate spacecraft. The funding recognises that student-built satellites train the engineers and founders who'll drive Ireland's space sector forward

Here’s a deeper look at what happened this week, and what it could mean for Irish space startups:

UK-based satellite operator Open Cosmos has wrapped up its two-year MANTIS mission, which carried AI technology from Dublin's Ubotica into orbit.

The satellite captured imagery across half a million square kilometres, completing over 10,000 orbits, before it was shut-down and deorbited at the end of its mission, burning up as planned on re-entry to the atmosphere.

Why it matters: Ubotica provided the onboard AI capability, flying its CogniSat/XE1 “SPACE:AI” stack on MANTIS to process imagery in-orbit so only the most valuable data needed downlinking.

It transformed raw satellite images into actionable intelligence in near real-time.

Ubotica’s technology means clients no longer wait days for useful data but are now getting answers while decisions still matter.

The Irish angle: Ubotica's proven in-orbit AI technology is now baked into OpenConstellation. This is Open Cosmos's still modest network of Earth observation satellites that governments and businesses are using to monitor climate change and track environmental threats.

The long term target is for 25 satellites to run as part of OpenConstellation, which aims to operate as a fleet of eyes in the sky, constantly watching Earth and feeding data to clients.

Separately, Open Cosmos has won multi-satellite national contracts ( seven for Greece and eight for Spain’s Atlantic Constellation) that are managed by the company, leaving Ubotica well placed for further contracts.

MANTIS - By the numbers:

What they're saying: Open Cosmos founder Rafel Jordà Siquier called it "a landmark mission" that proved end-to-end Earth observation with "state-of-the-art AI."

The bottom line: While European aerospace giants merge to challenge SpaceX, Irish engineers are already proving their technology works in orbit.

The big picture: Réaltra has landed a contract exceeding €1.5 million to supply video telemetry systems for seven upcoming Ariane 6 launches, building on its successful debut flight in July last year.

What's happening: The Irish space engineering company will deliver its VIKI (Independent Video Kit) system, the HD cameras that broadcast live footage from Europe's newest rocket during launch and flight.

Why it matters: Réaltra's technology provided all six camera feeds during Ariane 6's maiden voyage from French Guiana on 9 July, 2024 proving the system's reliability at arguably the most critical moment in Europe’s space-launch history.

The details:

The backdrop: Ariane 6 represents Europe's bid to maintain autonomous access to space after years of development across 13 countries. The launcher will serve diverse missions over the next decade, from commercial satellites to government payloads.

The next launch is scheduled for early November, building on the rocket’s first commercial flight in March.

The bottom line: An Irish firm's cameras are now the eyes on Europe's rocket. This is a quiet but significant foothold in the continent's launch infrastructure.

What they’re saying: “The technologies developed under the Ariane 6 programme require the highest level of performance and reliability. After working successfully with Réaltra for several years on the development of our video telemetry kit for Ariane 5 and Ariane 6, Réaltra has been selected by ArianeGroup for the delivery of seven more video telemetry kits for Ariane 6” - Olivier Charre of Ariane Group.

“The inclusion of Réaltra’s technology in the Ariane 6 is a testament to their market-leading expertise, and an inspiration to other Irish companies in the highly specialised space market.” - Niamh Smyth, Minister for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation.

Three European aerospace giants are merging their space businesses to create a €6.5bn rival capable of challenging American dominance in orbit.

Why it matters: This is Europe's clearest signal yet that it’s had enough of playing second fiddle to Elon Musk's SpaceX, which has fundamentally reshaped the satellite market with Starlink's rapid expansion in low Earth orbit.

The deal:

Between the lines: Europe has been scrambling to respond to SpaceX's disruption of traditional satellite markets. By pooling resources, the trio hopes to match the agility and efficiency that's made American companies dominant.

What they're saying: Guillaume Faury (Airbus CEO), Roberto Cingolani (Leonardo CEO) and Patrice Caine (Thales CEO) called it "a pivotal milestone for Europe's space industry," adding: "By pooling our talent, resources, expertise and R&D capabilities, we aim to generate growth, accelerate innovation and deliver greater value to our customers and stakeholders."

Yes, but: Union negotiations are just beginning. Whilst no immediate site closures or redundancies are planned, insiders suggest job cuts will eventually prove unavoidable.

The bottom line: After years of watching American companies reshape the space economy, Europe's establishment is finally mounting a serious counteroffensive.

University College Dublin has secured €1m in government funding following the success of EIRSAT-1, Ireland's first satellite mission—official recognition that the country's space ambitions are paying off.

What happened: The Higher Education Authority awarded UCD the funding as part of €5m distributed among five institutions for "exemplary contributions" to national priorities. The trailblazing Dublin uni was singled out for launching Ireland into the space age.

Why it matters: Launched in 2023, EIRSAT-1 was built entirely by students and faculty at UCD's Centre for Space Research, proving Ireland could design, build and operate spacecraft independently.

By the numbers:

What they're saying: Minister James Lawless praised institutions for their impact, noting they "rethink inclusive digital education, tackle disadvantage through equitable access to work experience, foster entrepreneurship and support start-ups, promote the Sustainable Development Goals, inspire and train future engineers and scientists, and take Ireland into the space age."

UCD President Professor Orla Feely said the funding would "help drive" continued work in space education, research and innovation.

The bottom line: EIRSAT-1 has laid the foundation for growth in Ireland's space sector—and now the government is backing it with real money.

The European Space Policy Institute has published a new report on reclaiming Europe’s industrial edge in space and how to face a welter of challenges from the United States and China.

Download the full report

America's race to return astronauts to the moon is heating up after NASA opened up SpaceX's lunar lander contract to competing bids, transforming the programme into a commercial space showdown - NYT story.

Acting NASA chief Sean Duffy framed the decision as a strategic move to accelerate progress on the Artemis III mission, inviting rivals like Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to compete for the 2027 moon landing, which is expected to be humanity's first since Apollo 17 in 1972 (unless China gets there first, which is the big US fear).

Duffy stressed the geopolitical stakes driving the urgency, taking a dig at SpaceX in the process: "They push their timelines out, and we're in a race against China.

“The president and I want to get to the moon in this president's term, so I'm going to open up the contracts."

The original SpaceX contract, awarded in 2021, has grown from 2.9 billion dollars to 4.4 billion dollars as the company develops its ambitious Starship system. While SpaceX has completed 11 test flights, NASA wants faster progress on developing a lunar lander.

Elon Musk defended his company's credentials, hitting out at Blue Origin, saying Bezos’s company "has never delivered a useful payload to orbit, let alone the Moon." Yet Blue Origin has been quietly advancing its Blue Moon lander under a separate three-billion-dollar NASA contract.

Both companies now face an October deadline to present accelerated proposals, as America races to maintain its edge in lunar exploration and China targeting a landing in 2030.

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Russian cosmonaut Aleksei Zubritsky discards a defunct camera from the ISS during his 6+ hour spacewalk.

Thanks for reading. Until next week, keep looking up!

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