The Spanish Ministry of Defense recently announced that the country's latest military satellite, "Spanish Star NG-1," will be officially put into use in mid August. As part of the largest space project in Spanish history, the satellite will provide dedicated communication services for the Spanish armed forces, EU forces, and NATO allies, marking an important breakthrough for Spain in the military space field. The Spanish Star NG-1 is a new generation tactical satellite of the Spanish Aerospace Forces. It was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA at the end of January this year aboard the Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX. From February to August, the satellite entered the trial operation phase of orbit testing and attitude adjustment, during which it collaborated with the XTAR-EUR satellite, which has been in orbit for over 20 years, to ensure the continuity of military communication missions. According to the plan, after the official launch of the "Spanish Star NG-1", the XTAR-EUR satellite will gradually transition to a "backup" state after several weeks of business handover. The total investment for the new generation tactical satellite project of the Spanish Aerospace Forces is 2 billion euros (approximately 2.18 billion US dollars), of which the second satellite is expected to be launched into orbit in October this year. Technical parameters show that the "Spanish Star NG-1" covers X-band, military KA band, and UHF band, and can simultaneously ensure encrypted communication for walkie talkies, satellite phones, and radio stations, with information transmission speed up to 10 times that of XTAR-EUR satellite. The antenna it is equipped with has sensitive response capability and can instantly adjust the angle according to real-time requirements, greatly improving communication flexibility. In the future, the satellite will work in conjunction with Satellite 2, covering two-thirds of the world's communication areas, including South America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, as well as countries such as the United States and Singapore. The Spanish Ministry of Defense emphasized that this series of satellites has a quadruple protection capability of "anti network attack, anti listening, anti interference, and anti nuclear explosion", which can ensure communication security in complex environments. At present, multiple operations of the Spanish Ministry of Defense have been transferred to the satellite communication payload. In addition, the Spanish Aerospace Forces stationed in Djibouti, as well as the Navara frigate task force carrying out the EU's "Operation Shield" and "Operation Atalanta" in the northwest Indian Ocean, have also completed the migration and switching of communication links to ensure stable communication during the mission. Secretary of State of the Spanish Ministry of Defense, Barcase, stated that the "Spanish Star NG-1" will not only meet the military communication needs of the country's military, but also provide satellite communication support for military, emergency rescue and other fields to the European Union, and open up secure satellite communication services to NATO - this is the first time Spain has such service capabilities. Previously, only the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy were able to provide military satellite communication support for NATO. Foreign media comments believe that the Spanish military's high-profile promotion and publicity of the project aims to highlight its important role in the European defense autonomy process. After the new leadership of the European Union took office, they released the "White Paper on the Future of European Defense", which clearly stated the goal of filling the gap in key defense capabilities and building a strong defense industrial foundation, especially emphasizing the urgent need for the space field to break away from external dependence and promote the establishment of a European independent military communication, navigation, and reconnaissance satellite system. In the first half of this year, the European Commission has added a space affairs commissioner in charge of the space field and established a space security working group in the newly established "Safety Committee" to further promote the implementation of relevant plans. As the first country to announce support for EU military operations in the space field after the release of the White Paper on the Future of European Defense, it is widely expected that the Spanish Star NG-1 will further open communication links to EU naval vessels carrying out Operation Shield in the Red Sea, strengthening communication support capabilities for EU maritime missions. At the same time, the satellite has also become one of the representative projects in Europe to promote "core technology autonomy". According to project leader Lopez, 45% of the components of the Spanish Star NG-1 were developed and manufactured by local Spanish companies, covering core military communication equipment and three band active antenna systems. The final assembly work was completed at a factory in Toulouse, France. According to foreign military experts, the "Spanish Star NG-1" has been incorporated into the European space-based defense system and has become an important branch of the "European Military Security Communication Network". In the future, it will collaborate with navigation, observation and positioning systems, as well as the "European version of StarShield" program, to jointly build the core support architecture for the European military aerospace field. However, some industry insiders have pointed out that the current European space-based defense system is heavily dependent on the US supply chain, and achieving the goal of "European origin" in the short term still faces challenges. (New Society)