---
title: "IRIS Accounted for Nearly 59% of SES Bookings Through September 2026"
id: 219111
type: "post"
slug: "iris-accounted-for-nearly-59-of-ses-bookings-through-september-2026"
author: "NSE"
published: "2026-11-06T19:30:50+00:00"
modified: "2026-11-06T19:30:50+00:00"
canonical: "https://newspaceeconomy.ca/2026/11/06/iris-accounted-for-nearly-59-of-ses-bookings-through-september-2026/"
markdown_url: "https://newspaceeconomy.ca/2026/11/06/iris-accounted-for-nearly-59-of-ses-bookings-through-september-2026.md"
description: "Europe’s IRIS² satellite program accounted for €3.4 billion of the €5.8 billion in new business and contract renewals that SES signed in the first nine months…"
language: "en-US"
category:
  - "Commercial Space"
  - "Communications Market"
  - "Space Economy"
post_tag:
  - "Company Earnings"
  - "Iris"
  - "Medium Earth Orbit"
  - "Satellite Communications"
  - "Satellite Manufacturing"
---

# IRIS Accounted for Nearly 59% of SES Bookings Through September 2026

![](https://i0.wp.com/newspaceeconomy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/1407a17a-25ab-402d-bdca-e9491b7ff627-1024x683.png?resize=696%2C464&ssl=1)

Europe’s IRIS² satellite program accounted for €3.4 billion of the €5.8 billion in new business and contract renewals that SES signed in the first nine months of 2026. One secure communications program represented nearly 59% of the value signed during the period. All other new contracts and renewals together accounted for about €2.4 billion.

The figures in the company’s [nine-month financial results](https://www.ses.com/news/press-release/ses-delivers-solid-9-months-q3-2026-results-and-reiterates-fullyear-outlook) describe three stages of its business. Bookings measure the value of contracts signed during a period. Backlog measures the contracted work still to be delivered at a particular date. Revenue records the value SES recognizes as it performs that work. At the end of September, SES had €10.0 billion in backlog. It recognized €2.47 billion in revenue from all activities in the first nine months.

The distinction is particularly useful after SES acquired Intelsat. The €2.47 billion in revenue compares with €1.74 billion as originally reported for the first nine months of 2025. To show how the underlying businesses performed, SES also compared the two periods with Intelsat included in both and exchange rates held constant. On that basis, nine-month revenue fell 2.0%.

Demand differed by service. Mobility revenue, which includes connectivity aboard aircraft, rose 9.7% on the comparable basis. Restructured aviation contracts contributed to that increase. Government and defense revenue rose 2.7%, and media revenue fell 6.8%. The €3.4 billion IRIS² booking, by contrast, captures the value of work contracted across the program rather than revenue earned through September.

## **The Work Behind the Order**

SES reported that it had signed the IRIS² implementation agreement and started construction of a satellite manufacturing facility in Luxembourg. It plans to design and build communications payloads there, then assemble and test satellites for medium Earth orbit. A payload receives and transmits the customer’s signals. During assembly and testing, engineers connect it to the spacecraft that supplies its power and keeps it pointed in the right direction.

A separate part of the constellation involves MDA Space, which received authorization to begin [digital antenna work](https://newspaceeconomy.ca/2026/11/02/mda-space-begins-iris-antenna-work-under-agreement-exceeding-c100-million/) for 66 early-delivery satellites. SES expects its Luxembourg facility to be complete in the first half of 2028 and plans to use it for both IRIS² and its own meoSphere program.