ESA opens call to fund reusable booster flight demonstrations
ESA's BEST 2 call asks ArianeGroup, MaiaSpace and Isar Aerospace to fly reusable booster demonstrators.
#esa
Indra Space wins ESA contracts to modernize Galileo's ground segment
Indra Space signed two ESA contracts to build next-generation Galileo ground sensor and uplink stations.
Update: ESA taps OVHcloud and CGI to build Digital EO cloud platform
OVHcloud's own release says the Digital EO platform can extend beyond its initial three countries to Canada, an ESA Council member.
original 2026-09-28
ESA loses Space Rider test model in failed drop test
A parafoil failure destroyed ESA's full-scale Space Rider drop-test model, pushing first flight from Q1 to Q2 2028.
OHB wins ESA study contract for shared lunar infrastructure concept
OHB will lead ESA studies for OASIS, a shared power, communications and data-storage platform for the lunar surface.
ESA's MetOp-SG-B1 weather satellite arrives in French Guiana ahead of launch
ESA's MetOp-SG-B1 weather satellite reached French Guiana by ship on Oct. 16, ahead of a planned year-end Ariane 6 launch.
ESA signs NAVISP contracts for resilient rail and aviation positioning
ESA backed Intecs, Airbus and Creotech Geo to develop 5G-based rail positioning and optical-fibre aviation timing.
Sentinel-3C returns its first Earth images, ESA says
Two weeks after launch, ESA's Sentinel-3C delivered its first ocean-colour and radar-altimeter data.
L3Harris wins NASA contract to build telescopes for ESA's LISA mission
NASA awarded L3Harris a contract to build all-glass telescopes for ESA's LISA gravitational-wave observatory.
ESA picks Hungary's C3S to design mass-producible microsatellite platform
ESA selected Hungarian smallsat maker C3S to design a 50-150kg satellite platform built for constellations of more than 100 spacecraft.
ESA outlines 10-year, 10 billion euro independent crewed spaceflight plan
Aschbacher proposed a 10-year, 10 billion euro plan for Europe to launch its own astronauts without relying on NASA or SpaceX.
Update: ESA awards Airbus, OHB contracts to study European-led orbital outpost
SpaceNews reports development spending for the initial system would be capped at €1 billion per three-year funding period, over two such periods, a figure no...
original 2026-09-29
ESA awards Airbus, OHB contracts to study European-led orbital outpost
ESA has awarded two nine-month feasibility studies, led by Airbus and OHB, for a European-led orbital outpost after the ISS.
ArianeGroup completes second Themis wet dress rehearsal
ArianeGroup and SSC Space ran a second cryogenic countdown rehearsal of Europe's Themis reusable-rocket demonstrator at Esrange.
ESA taps OVHcloud and CGI to build Digital EO cloud platform
ESA awarded OVHcloud and CGI a 30-month contract to build cloud infrastructure for Europe's Earth observation data, per Reuters.
ESA advances ECO, Keystone and CryoRad in Earth Explorer 12 pick
ESA narrowed its 12th Earth Explorer science satellite mission down to three concepts advancing to the next development phase.
Update: ESA picks ICEYE and Leonardo-led teams to design Europe's EO governmental service
ICEYE CEO and co-founder Rafal Modrzewski said, per Via Satellite, "Europe cannot defend what it cannot see," calling the study "the first step toward a fede...
original 2026-09-17
GomSpace joins ESA-funded study for Arctic satellite constellation
GomSpace and partners will study a future Arctic satellite constellation for secure maritime communication under an ESA-funded contract.
Update: ESA picks ICEYE and Leonardo-led teams to design Europe's EO governmental service
ESA awarded two contracts, one to a consortium led by ICEYE called ARISE (with Indra Space, Rheinmetall, HISDESAT, Starion, T-Systems, SafranAI, Rheinmetall...
original 2026-09-17
Update: ESA signs 18 IRIS2 Low-LEO contracts with nearly 80 companies, including Kineis
ESA signed 18 consolidation contracts worth a combined €20 million, bringing together nearly 80 companies to study new secure and resilient connectivity serv...
original 2026-09-17
ESA picks ICEYE and Leonardo-led teams to design Europe's EO governmental service
ESA awarded two parallel architecture-study contracts for the EU's future Earth Observation Governmental Service.
ESA signs 18 IRIS2 Low-LEO contracts with nearly 80 companies, including Kineis
ESA signed 18 consolidation contracts worth €20 million, covering nearly 80 companies, to study IRIS2's low-LEO layer.
Galileo demonstrates first authenticated position fix under spoofing
Five Galileo satellites broadcast an encrypted test signal that let a receiver compute a spoof-resistant position fix.
ESA gives excellence awards to Surrey Satellite, Sener, CompPair
ESA recognized the three space companies at Industry Space Days 2026 for program delivery and innovation.
ESA launches FLEX and Sentinel-3C on Vega-C from French Guiana
Vega-C's eighth flight carried Copernicus Sentinel-3C and the FLEX vegetation mission into orbit from French Guiana.
ESA presses ahead on EnVision Venus mission as NASA drops radar instrument
NASA is unlikely to deliver the VenSAR radar it committed to ESA's EnVision Venus orbiter, per Ars Technica; ESA says it's pressing ahead.
ESA calls for bids to build Europe's radioisotope heater plant
ESA opened a tender for a pilot plant to produce Europe's own americium-241 spacecraft heaters, ending reliance on outside suppliers.
OHB wins nearly €1 billion SES contract for IRIS2 satellites
OHB will build all 18 IRIS2 medium Earth orbit satellite platforms under a contract worth almost €1 billion from SES.
ESA signs first European Launcher Challenge contracts worth €543.6 million
ESA awarded Isar Aerospace, Rocket Factory Augsburg, and PLD Space a combined €543.6 million to fly alternatives to Ariane 6.
ESA's Draco reentry mission clears critical design review
ESA's Draco satellite, built to record its own atmospheric breakup, passed its Critical Design Review ahead of a 2027 launch.
Update: EU Commission signs deal expanding IRIS2 constellation to 348 satellites
Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said the deal will "boost secure governmental capacity by more than 60% within the Union." Payload reported the division of lab...
original 2026-08-06
ESA says Europe faces a launcher shortage around 2030
ESA's Aschbacher tells the Financial Times Europe's launch capacity won't meet demand by 2030, and wants developers to price expansion.
SES commits up to €1.35 billion to build IRIS2 MEO satellites
SES cleared a key IRIS² milestone and confirmed up to €1.35 billion to build 18 medium-orbit satellites for the EU program.
EU Commission signs deal expanding IRIS2 constellation to 348 satellites
The European Commission and SpaceRISE concluded a deal adding 66 satellites to IRIS2, taking the program to EUR15.6 billion.
European Commission · SES · Eutelsat · Hispasat · Airbus Defence and Space · Thales Alenia Space · OHB5 sources →
ESA opens tender to repurpose Gateway's Lunar Link comms module
ESA is soliciting feasibility studies to turn its Gateway-built Lunar Link payload into a standalone lunar comms satellite.
Spire partners with SATE on ESA-backed AI satellite health monitoring program
Spire and Italy's SATE will spend 18 months building AI to diagnose satellite health and failures, under an ESA-backed program.
Poland to host new ESA center as space contribution grows tenfold
Poland will host ESA's first center in an eastern-flank member state and is raising its ESA funding roughly tenfold for 2026-2028.
Eurospace: EO overtakes telecom as Europe's top space revenue segment
Eurospace's 2025 report shows European space industry sales up 23% to EUR10.9 billion, with EO overtaking telecom as the top segment.
Airbus wins ESA contract to build Aeolus-2 wind-sensing satellite
ESA and EUMETSAT contract Airbus to build a successor to the Aeolus wind-lidar satellite as an operational service.
SES and Airbus secure Noordwijk site for Eagle-1 quantum ground station
SES and Airbus signed a lease in Noordwijk, Netherlands for Eagle-1's optical ground station, per European Spaceflight.
ESA awards Thales Alenia Space €700 million contract for Sentinel-1 NG
Thales Alenia Space will build two next-generation Sentinel-1 radar satellites, with Airbus supplying the SAR instruments.