Hisdesat loses SpainSat NG II secure comms satellite to debris strike
Hisdesat · Indra Group · Airbus Defence and Space
A space particle strike during orbit-raising destroyed Spain's new secure military comms satellite before it entered service.
what happened
Indra Group disclosed Jan. 2, 2026 that SpainSat NG II, built by Airbus Defence and Space for operator Hisdesat, was struck by a space particle while transiting to geostationary orbit at roughly 50,000 km altitude, about ten weeks after its Oct. 23, 2025 launch on a Falcon 9. Hisdesat concluded Jan. 16 that the satellite suffered non-recoverable damage and can no longer carry out its mission.
why it matters
SpainSat NG II was built to serve Spain's Ministry of Defence, NATO and EU GOVSATCOM partners; its loss removes redundancy from a national secure-comms architecture that took years to build. Hisdesat says the satellite was fully insured, limiting its direct financial exposure, but the program needs a multi-year rebuild, which set up the SpainSat NG III replacement contract Hisdesat signed with Airbus and Thales Alenia Space in July.
for who
Government satcom operators and insurers
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- Hisdesat, Indra Group, Airbus Defence and Space
- Category
- incident
- Impact
- major
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-01-02
- Published
- 2026-08-01 05:27 UTC