The European Space Agency has awarded two parallel contracts to design the architecture of Europe’s planned Earth Observation Governmental Service, known as EOGS. The studies, led separately by ICEYE and Leonardo, are intended to turn policy requirements into a technical blueprint before the service begins its planned rollout in 2028.
What is EOGS?
EOGS is planned as a secure, dual-use Earth-observation capability under civilian and governmental control. European policy documents describe a system combining participating national and commercial capacity with dedicated satellites, ground infrastructure, data processing and controlled distribution.
What has ESA awarded?
ESA commissioned two competing architecture studies rather than an operational constellation. The teams will examine how space assets, ground systems, processing and user access could work together. Parallel studies allow different technical and industrial approaches to be compared before larger commitments are made.
Who is paying for the work?
The contracts are funded by the European Commission through preparatory activity for secure Earth observation. ESA is managing the studies using its technical and procurement role. The agency said the architecture work is expected to be completed next year.
How is this different from Copernicus?
Copernicus is Europe’s established civil Earth-observation programme with a broad open-data model. EOGS is being designed for governmental security and defence needs requiring timely, persistent and targeted information with controlled access. European legislation also allows EOGS data to complement Copernicus in areas such as civil protection and security.
What has not happened yet?
No complete EOGS service has been deployed and the study awards do not settle the final architecture, budget or satellite mix. The next meaningful evidence will be the study results, procurement decisions and phased implementation from 2028. Claims about capability should therefore distinguish design work from an operating system.
Primary sources: ESA’s contract announcement and the EU legislative text describing EOGS.
Reporting basis: official information available on 22 September 2026. Illustrative image: photo by Bernd Dittrich on Unsplash.