Kepler Communications’ LEO network. Photo: Kepler Communications
The European Space Agency has selected Toronto-based Kepler Communications as prime contractor for HydRON Element 3, the third part of a sovereign optical communications constellation, the company announced this week during Space Symposium.
HydRON, short for High-throughput Optical Network, is a sovereign European data transport layer. Kepler was tapped to lead the first stage of the program in October 2024 with a $39 million contract to demonstrate a ten-satellite data transport system in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO).
Under the Element 3 award, Kepler will manufacture and launch a host platform for multiple European optical terminals and payloads from service providers. The satellite will also be part of Kepler’s own network, the company said in a statement. The contract is worth 18.6 million euros ($22 million).
“HydRON will serve as the world’s first multi-orbital optical communications network with a terabit per second capacity, offering resilient and efficient data transfer to address the challenges of bringing connectivity to multiple users securely, quickly and reliably,” Kepler Director of Resilience, Navigation, and Connectivity Laurent Jaffart said.
The satellite will carry optical communication terminal hardware from Tesat, Mbryonics, and Astrolight, and a space situational awareness payload from Vyoma. Kepler is also responsible for payload hosting, launch preparation, and in-orbit operations.
Kepler said the contract was possible because Canada is the only non-European cooperating state of the ESA. The Canada-ESA Program gives Canadian companies access to otherwise protected European space markets, it said.
“HydRON is a key initiative in advancing sovereign optical communications and enabling high-capacity data transport,” Kepler CEO and Co-Founder Mina Mitry said. “Element 3 represents a critical step in broad interoperability testing and delivering real-time access to data for various applications.”
ESA gave the contract for HydRON Element 2, a satellite collector to relay data in LEO, to Thales Alenia Space in February 2025.