SaxaVord Spaceport secures £30 million UK government funding pledge
The UK government pledged £30 million toward SaxaVord's launchpad buildout, part of a £60 million public-private package.
#europe
Isar Aerospace reaches orbit with Spectrum on second flight
Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket reached orbit from Norway, the first orbital-class launch from Western Europe.
Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket lifted off from Andoya Spaceport in Norway on its second flight, carrying five cubesats and one ESA-sponsored experiment, and reached orbit roughly seven minutes after liftoff, per NRK and Aftenposten. The rocket's March 2025 debut failed 30 seconds after launch, and five subsequent launch attempts this year were scrubbed for technical and weather reasons before Saturday's flight. Isar Aerospace itself reported the second stage achieved a preliminary 180 x 500 km orbit, per SpaceNews reporter Jeff Foust. Isar's chief commercial officer Stella Guillen told CNBC on September 7 that the company's order pipeline is now worth more than 10 billion euros, though the company has not said how much of that is signed.
ASD Eurospace CEOs say Europe lacks the industrial model to match its space capabilities
Per ASD Eurospace President Marco Fuchs: Europe needs "strong and determined institutional customers" to anchor a stable space market.
Sparkle and Hellas Sat complete quantum-safe satellite link between Greece and Cyprus
Sparkle and Hellas Sat extended quantum-safe encryption over a live satellite link connecting their Athens and Cyprus infrastructure.
Planet signs 7-figure deal with European defense and intelligence customer
Planet signed a one-year agreement to supply Planet Mosaics and support services to an unnamed European defense and intelligence customer.
4iG signs SpaceX's first European Starlink Mobile agreements
4iG and SpaceX signed Europe's first Starlink Mobile and Sovereign Solutions agreements, launching in Hungary and Albania.
Axelspace partners with Airbus Defence and Space on GRUS imagery
Axelspace and Airbus Defence and Space will jointly distribute GRUS satellite imagery to a broader customer base.
HyImpulse extends Series A round by 50 million euros
The German launch company adds 50 million euros to its Series A, taking total funding past 125 million euros.
Open Cosmos selected as approved provider for UK's £8bn TacSys framework
Open Cosmos becomes an approved provider on the UK's £8 billion TacSys defence-communications framework.
Munich's Project-S raises seed funding for orbital debris radar
Project-S emerged from stealth with a multi-million-euro seed round to build a radar-based system for tracking orbital debris.
ispace-Europe wins ESA's 65 million euro MAGPIE lunar rover contract
ESA awarded ispace-Europe a 65 million euro Phase 2 contract to build and deliver its MAGPIE rover to the Moon's south pole.
PLD Space adds €108 million to Series C, tops out at €288 million
Mitsubishi Electric leads a fresh €108M tranche, bringing PLD Space's Series C round to €288M total.
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.
Ovzon enters German satcom market via IABG Teleport and MBS partnerships
Swedish satellite operator Ovzon signed its first German partnerships to test its satcom platform with a government customer.
Ariane 6 launches MTG-I2 weather satellite on first mission to GTO
Ariane 6 successfully launched EUMETSAT's MTG-I2 weather satellite on its first flight to geostationary transfer orbit.
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.
ICEYE establishes Netherlands entity, deepens Dutch air force partnership
ICEYE opens a Dutch subsidiary and R&D hub tied to its existing SAR intelligence work for the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force.
HIE acquires Orbex's failed Sutherland Spaceport assets
Highlands and Islands Enterprise bought Sutherland Spaceport's assets out of liquidation, leaving the site's future launch use undecided.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise buys Sutherland Spaceport assets from Orbex liquidators
Scotland's HIE bought the liquidated Sutherland Spaceport's assets, keeping the UK launch site's future open after Orbex's collapse.
Kongsberg to double N3X maritime surveillance constellation in 2027
Kongsberg will double its N3X dark-vessel-tracking constellation to six satellites in early 2027 for the Norwegian Armed Forces.
MaiaSpace signs Ride to broker rideshare capacity on Maia rocket
MaiaSpace's fifth commercial contract lets French broker Ride sell auxiliary payload space on future Maia launches from 2028.
ESA confirms it has shelved the Ariane 6 Block 3 upgrade
ESA told European Spaceflight it is no longer considering the Ariane 6 Block 3 upgrade and its lightweight carbon-composite upper stage.
CNES seeks industry partner for mass-producible satellite telescope
CNES issued an RFI for a compact, diamond-machined optical telescope meant to scale past 1,000 units for constellations.
SpaceX reverses Starlink's Poland roaming exclusion after backlash
SpaceX reversed Starlink's Poland roaming exclusion days before it was due to take effect, after Polish officials protested.
Synspective opens European subsidiary in Munich
Synspective opened Synspective Europe GmbH in Munich, Germany, to serve as its EMEA hub for SAR satellite data and partnerships.
Marlink to acquire UK defense comms specialist GRC
Marlink agreed to buy Global RadioData Communications, a UK satellite and RF comms specialist serving the UK Ministry of Defence and NATO.
Astrolight and ATMOS Space Cargo to test reentry-to-satellite laser link
The companies signed an MOU to demonstrate a 2.5 Gbps optical link between a reentry capsule and an orbiting satellite in 2027.
Rocket Lab establishes German subsidiary for sovereign satellite manufacturing
Rocket Lab launched a Munich-based German subsidiary to build a regional hub for satellite manufacturing and European launch sales.
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.
RFA pulls RFA One rocket from SaxaVord pad, cancels UK's first launch window
RFA de-stacked its rocket to investigate an issue, forcing SaxaVord to cancel its planned launch-window traffic orders.
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 →
Kreios Space partners with NanoAvionics for first VLEO propulsion demo
Kreios Space will fly its air-breathing electric propulsion system on a NanoAvionics satellite bus in 2027.
Eutelsat's OneWeb LEO revenue grows 69.5% in FY2025-26 results
Eutelsat's full-year results show LEO connectivity revenue up 69.5% to EUR297 million, now a quarter of total revenue.
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.
Bulgaria taps EnduroSat to build space and defense hub in Dobroslavtsi
Bulgaria's government signed an MOU with EnduroSat to turn a former air base into a European satellite production hub.
Neuraspace raises $18 million to expand European space domain awareness
Portugal's Neuraspace secured an $18 million Series B and EU funding round for AI-driven space traffic management.
ESPI warns Europe is falling behind China on orbital data centers
Per ESPI: Chinese orbital-computing ventures are moving to deployment while Europe still weighs the concept.
CNES sets 2028 target for reusable heavy-lift engine hot-fire test
CNES president François Jacq says a subscale ASTRE engine prototype will get its first hot-fire test in 2028.
ICEYE raises EUR 450 million Series F led by General Atlantic at over EUR 10 billion
ICEYE's primary Series F values the SAR operator above EUR 10B; the full round tops EUR 1B with a secondary placement.
LiveEO wins German Space Agency grant for multimodal EO vision model
Germany's Space Agency at DLR funded LiveEO to study a foundation AI model spanning optical and radar Earth-observation imagery.
ArianeGroup keeps MaiaSpace alive despite negative shareholders' equity
MaiaSpace posted a 37.5 million euro loss for 2025 that pushed shareholders' equity negative; ArianeGroup voted not to dissolve it.
ETL Systems acquires ground-segment software firm Amphinicy Technologies
ETL Systems buys Croatian software specialist Amphinicy to broaden its satellite ground-segment portfolio.
RFA delays RFA ONE's maiden launch after vehicle issue found in testing
Rocket Factory Augsburg found an issue during pressure testing and de-stacked RFA ONE, casting doubt on the planned August 10 launch window.
Hisdesat contracts Airbus and Thales Alenia Space to build SpainSat NG III
Spain's satellite operator signed the industrial contract for a replacement secure-comms satellite after SpainSat NG II's total loss.
Planet Labs wins Scottish government contract for farmland monitoring
Scotland's government picked Planet, via reseller Computacenter, for a one-year, seven-figure satellite-monitoring deal.
ArianeGroup completes wet dress rehearsal of reusable Themis demonstrator
ArianeGroup rehearsed a full cryogenic countdown for the Themis reusable-booster demonstrator, its first update in ten months.
MaiaSpace skips suborbital test, targets 2027 orbital launch attempt
MaiaSpace says ground testing made a suborbital hop unnecessary; Maia's debut now targets an orbital attempt in second-half 2027.
OHB Italia to lead Italy's PRISMA second-generation satellite build
OHB Italia, Thales Alenia Space and Leonardo will build Italy's next hyperspectral satellite, tripling ground resolution to 10 meters.
Poland boosts IRIS2 satellite contribution to 656 million euros
Poland more than doubled its IRIS2 contribution to 656.3 million euros; Eutelsat has now detailed its side of the MoU.
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.
The Exploration Company in talks to raise $300 million at $2 billion valuation
Per the Financial Times, the German space firm is negotiating a $300 million round that would value it at over $2 billion.
SpaceX Starlink satellite's reentry produces widely seen fireball over Netherlands
A defunct SpaceX Starlink satellite burned up over the Netherlands on July 24, producing a widely observed fireball, per Dutch outlets.
Eutelsat files with FCC for new 528-satellite Next LEO constellation
Eutelsat asked the FCC for US market access for a planned 528-satellite Next constellation alongside its existing OneWeb fleet.
Spire Global and SATE partner on ESA-backed AI satellite health program
Spire and SATE will spend 18 months building an ESA-funded AI system, called STRAIDE, for real-time satellite health monitoring.
Germany considers dedicated launch site for its armed forces
German Defence Minister Pistorius said the Bundeswehr is weighing its own launch site to avoid commercial launch queues.
ORiS raises 5 million euros for satellite laser power-beaming tech
Per SpaceNews: the Turin startup raised 5 million euros to develop laser-based wireless power beaming for satellites.
AMOS wins ONERA contract to build French space-surveillance telescope
Belgium's AMOS will build PROVIDENCE, a 2.5-metre telescope giving France's Air and Space Force LEO object-tracking down to 10 cm.
UK and Space Florida commit $400,000 to joint aerospace projects
The UK government and Space Florida each pledged $200,000 to launch a new joint aerospace innovation fund.
MDA Space UK selected by OHB to supply lunar landing sensors for ESA's Argonaut
MDA Space UK will supply LEIA LiDAR sensors for the hazard-detection system on ESA's Argonaut lunar lander, per an interim OHB contract.
UK government commits 62 million pounds to satellite tech funding
The UK government opened GBP62 million in space-sector funding, including a third C-LEO satcom technology round.
Arianespace CEO urges EU, Germany to buy Ariane 6 in blocks
Per Hartpunkt: David Cavaillolès says a 10-20-launch block order would 'completely change' Ariane 6's supply chain planning.
Swissto12 raises $70 million to expand small GEO satellite production
Swissto12 raised a $70 million Series C to scale up HummingSat small-GEO satellite manufacturing.
Belgium to build Galo military satellite constellation by 2030
Belgium's defence ministry will spend over 200 million euros on its own low-Earth-orbit imaging constellation.
ESA books Ariane 6 to launch Henon deep-space CubeSat
ESA signed a launch contract flying its Henon CubeSat as a secondary payload on Ariane 6 alongside the Plato telescope.
UK Space Agency previews strategy framed around growth and security
UK Space Agency director Rebecca Evernden says a new national space strategy is coming 'in the coming weeks.'
Pangea Propulsion opens Barcelona-area manufacturing plant for serial production
The Spanish propulsion maker opened a 1,000-square-metre plant near Barcelona, its first shift to serial production.
UK Space Agency misses deadline to award debris-removal contract
The UK Space Agency missed its deadline to award a GBP75.6 million debris-removal contract to Astroscale or ClearSpace.
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.
EU orders 24-hour delay on Copernicus satellite imagery over Gulf of Oman
The EU Council ordered a 24-hour delay releasing Sentinel imagery of part of the Gulf of Oman after a US security request.
ESA reports record 12% growth in European space budgets
ESA's 2026 report found European space budgets grew 12% to €13.5 billion in 2025, the fastest rise in five years.
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.
Eight NATO allies launch HALO military satellite constellation initiative
Eight NATO members will network their sovereign military satellites into a shared hybrid constellation.
MDA Space agrees to buy 70% of French EO firm CLS
MDA Space is acquiring a 70% stake in French EO data analytics firm CLS for 567 million euros, per SpaceNews.
Isar Aerospace signs launch site deal with Maritime Launch Services
Isar Aerospace will pay Maritime Launch Services for a dedicated Spectrum launch complex at Spaceport Nova Scotia in Canada.
ICEYE opens Portugal subsidiary and Lisbon center of excellence
ICEYE established ICEYE Portugal and a Lisbon R&D center of excellence, naming Rui Costa as country CEO.
The Exploration Company opens US subsidiary TEC Federal in Houston
The Exploration Company set up a Houston-based US entity, TEC Federal, to compete for US government contracts.
Ovzon completes High North Arctic expedition testing with NATO observers
Ovzon tested its GEO satellite and mobile terminals nearly 1,300 km inside the Arctic Circle with NATO country observers.
ICEYE establishes German entity, names Philipp Herkelmann country CEO
ICEYE formally established a German entity in Berlin and Munich, naming Philipp Herkelmann CEO of ICEYE Germany.
Loft Orbital awards MaiaSpace multi-launch contract
Per Andrew Parsonson on Bluesky, Loft Orbital signed MaiaSpace for multiple launches starting 2028.
Beyond Gravity signs deal for 27 Ariane 6 payload fairings
Beyond Gravity will supply 27 payload fairings for Ariane 6 flights 16 through 42, its largest Swiss launch-vehicle contract yet.
Vivienne Machi says NATO's HALO takes the SDA constellation blueprint alliance-wide
Per Aviation Week's Vivienne Machi: NATO signaled the SDA concept "may be evolving into a blueprint for organizing allied space."
Intesa Sanpaolo, EIB and ESA launch EUR 300 million aerospace SME lending facility
Intesa Sanpaolo, the EIB and ESA launched a EUR 300 million financing facility for Italy's aerospace supply-chain SMEs.
ICEYE launches four satellites on Transporter-17, debuts Gen4 SAR model
ICEYE says its SAR constellation now stands at 76 satellites after a four-satellite Transporter-17 launch.
Simera Sense to supply imagers for Canary Islands EO constellation
Per SpaceNews, Simera Sense won a deal to supply eight multispectral imagers for a new regional EO constellation.
Arianespace and Infinite Orbits sign MOU for direct-to-GEO rideshare
Per SpaceNews, Arianespace and Infinite Orbits will explore direct-to-GEO rideshare services on Ariane 6 from 2029.
Unseenlabs launches first satellite of its second-generation RF fleet
Unseenlabs says it launched BRO-31, the first satellite of a heavier, more capable second-generation RF-detection fleet.
Open Cosmos launches first satellites for Balearic Islands, Greece
Open Cosmos launched Posidonia, the Balearic Islands' first satellite, and Hyperion GR-1, the first of a planned Greek EO constellation.
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.
Planet Labs adds Wolfgang Schmidt, ex-German Chancellery head, to European board
Former German Chancellery chief Wolfgang Schmidt joins Planet's European Advisory Board.
Isar Aerospace to launch Planet's first German-built satellite mission
Isar's Spectrum rocket will carry a Planet Labs Germany Pelican Earth-observation satellite within about a year of the deal.
Latitude signs LOI for first orbital launch from Oman
French launch startup Latitude wants to fly its small launcher from a new Omani spaceport as soon as late 2027.
Austria selects R-Space to build second military satellite
Austria's Ministry of Defence picked R-Space to build Aurora, a laser-comms and quantum-encryption demonstration satellite due in 2027.
Sybilla Technologies raises $10 million to expand SSA network
Poland's Sybilla Technologies raised about $10 million to grow its optical sensor network and enter the US market.
ESA contracts EMXYS to build asteroid-landing CubeSat for Ramses mission
ESA contracted Spain's EMXYS to build Don Quijote, the first CubeSat designed to land on an asteroid, for its Ramses mission.
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.
Italy brings IRIDE Earth observation service online
Italy's IRIDE Earth observation marketplace went live July 1 for government users, with commercial access planned later.
Firefly and SSC Space target 2028 for first Esrange launch
Firefly's Alpha rocket is set to fly from a new pad in Swedish Lapland by 2028, adding an orbital launch site to mainland Europe.
MaiaSpace weighs fourth engine for Maia rocket
ArianeGroup subsidiary MaiaSpace is considering a fourth Prometheus engine that would double Maia's payload across all variants.
ICEYE wins Iberdrola pilot deal to monitor grid amid extreme weather
Iberdrola picked ICEYE for a 12-month satellite grid-monitoring pilot.
ArianeGroup keeps MaiaSpace operating despite negative equity
MaiaSpace's 2025 loss pushed shareholders' equity to -€823,375; ArianeGroup voted against dissolving the launch startup.
NASA adds three European firms to CSDA data program
Per SpaceNews, NASA added three European Earth-observation firms to its CSDA commercial-data contract.
OHB raises 510 million euros for manufacturing
OHB is issuing new shares worth roughly 510 million euros to fund manufacturing capacity and its RFA launch subsidiary.
GATE Space wins EUR 6.3 million from the EU's EIC Accelerator for satellite propulsion
The Vienna TU Wien spinout gets grants and equity to industrialise its chemical Jetpack thrusters, per SpaceNews.
Norway's NVE selects ICEYE for nationwide flood monitoring
ICEYE will provide always-on SAR flood tracking across mainland Norway and Svalbard under a one-year government contract.
Portugal orders two more ICEYE SAR satellites for its air force
Portugal is expanding its sovereign SAR constellation from one satellite to four, all built by ICEYE.
Ariane 6 debuts P160C boosters on VA269, lofting 36 Amazon Leo satellites in a record
ESA says the upgraded boosters made this the heaviest payload ever launched by a European rocket, beating Ariane 5's ATV.
DR Congo orders its first Earth observation satellite, RDC-SAT 1, from SPACEBEL
The Belgian firm calls it the first made-in-Belgium commercial satellite; RTBF reports a hyperspectral instrument aboard.
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.
Rafael and Reflex Aerospace partner on 30 cm imaging constellation, first launch 2027
The Israeli defence company and German manufacturer co-fund a very-high-resolution, high-revisit satellite line, per their release.
Spire signs MoU with Diehl Defence on satellite-based missile early warning
Spire and the German defence integrator will explore satellite-based early warning against ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
ESA and European Commission sign in-space servicing pact; Thales Alenia wins EROSS SC
An ISOS joint declaration at ILA Berlin, plus six Horizon Europe projects launched, led by a EUR 12M servicing-spacecraft award.
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.
NASA names Artemis III crew with ESA's Parmitano as pilot for 2027 Earth-orbit HLS test
Bresnik commands, Parmitano pilots; the reprofiled mission will demo docking with Blue Origin and SpaceX lander test versions.
NewOrbit raises $18.5 million Series A to build VLEO satellites, led by Voyager Ventures
The UK startup targets 200-300 km very low Earth orbit with air-breathing ion propulsion; first flight planned for 2028.
Vast to fly Czech astronaut Ales Svoboda to ISS in NASA-awarded mission
ESA signed a deal for Vast to fly Czech astronaut Ales Svoboda to the ISS in 2027 under a NASA-awarded mission.
Orbex enters UK administration after acquisition and funding talks collapse
Orbex filed for UK administration in February after Series D funding talks and an acquisition by The Exploration Company both fell through.
Orbex, developer of the UK's Prime small launch vehicle, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators on February 11, 2026, after failing to close a Series D funding round or complete a previously announced acquisition by French company The Exploration Company, per SpaceNews, Via Satellite, and European Spaceflight. Orbex, a winner of ESA's European Launcher Challenge that had received EUR34.9 million ($41.5 million) from the program, had already shut down its Danish rocket-engine subsidiary and laid off about 90 employees in January; administration puts roughly 150 further UK jobs at risk. CEO Phil Chambers said: "Disappointing doesn't come close to describing how we feel about this moment."
Hisdesat loses SpainSat NG II secure comms satellite to debris strike
A space particle strike during orbit-raising destroyed Spain's new secure military comms satellite before it entered service.
OHB opposes Airbus-Leonardo-Thales space merger in EU antitrust review
OHB CEO Marco Fuchs said OHB will raise formal concerns during the EU's antitrust review of the Airbus-Leonardo-Thales space merger.
Airbus, Leonardo and Thales agree to merge space units into single venture
Airbus, Leonardo and Thales signed an MOU to combine space units into one company with 25,000 staff and EUR 6.5bn revenue.
Airbus, Leonardo and Thales signed a memorandum of understanding on October 23, 2025 to combine their space businesses into a new, jointly controlled company, per Via Satellite. Airbus will hold 35% of the new venture and Leonardo and Thales 32.5% each; the combination pools Airbus's Space Systems and Space Digital units, Leonardo's Space Division including its stakes in Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space, and Thales's own shares in Thales Alenia Space, Telespazio and Thales SESO (launchers are excluded). The companies project the venture will have about 25,000 employees across Europe, roughly EUR 6.5 billion in pro-forma 2024 revenue, and a backlog covering more than three years of sales, with operations expected to start in 2027 subject to regulatory approvals.