while publicly hugging IRIS²
Germany might be “wholly in favour” of IRIS², which is Europe’s secure connectivity answer to the Starlink-induced existential crisis, but Berlin also appears to like having keys that actually fit the locks. A reported German-only MEO constellation for about €12 billion is the kind of number that makes EU budgeteers reach for herbal tea. You don’t whisper that figure unless you want everyone in Brussels to stop pretending IRIS² will solve every problem while making no one upset.
The official IRIS² storyline is tidy. A public private partnership, a serious concession, a ribbon-cut in 2030 if the calendar behaves. SpaceRISE knits together operators and primes. People smile into cameras. It reads like a group project where everyone promises to do their part and then remembers exams exist. Germany’s hint of a separate MEO ring isn’t betrayal, it’s insurance. You buy a spare parachute before you jump, not after.
