ESA awards $1.68m CableShield contract to neXat, Telesat and Colt

The European Space Agency has awarded neXat, Telesat and Colt Technology Services Belgium a €1.5 million ($1.68m) contract to build CableShield, a system that detects subsea cable interruptions and reroutes traffic via satellite. The 18-month program targets commercial launch in 2028 alongside Telesat's Lightspeed service.

• Contract worth €1.5m ($1.68m) under the ARTES 4.0 program
• neXat is prime contractor, Telesat provides LEO capacity, Colt supplies its IQ Network
• Development and validation will run for 18 months
• Commercial launch targeted for 2028 with Telesat Lightspeed