European Space Agency

Europe inaugurates its most powerful Ariane rocket but still eyes further mission expansion.

The European Space Agency is looking to assert its relevance in lunar exploration, with an eye on pulling forward some its planned Argonaut lander missions.

ESA is assessing the feasibility of hiking the launch cadence for the Ariane 6 rocket to as many as 20 flights per year to address an anticipated shortage of European launch capacity in a few years.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

European launcher manufacturers need orders to secure a production ramp-up, according to a panel discussion at the ILA Berlin air show.

ESA aims to send European astronauts to the lunar surface, says the agency's Director General Josef Aschbacher.

As Europe pursues its goal of becoming more autonomous in space, ESA is exploring whether its Ariane 6 rocket could to take astronauts to orbit.

European officials have signed off on high-level performance requirements for a future autonomous Earth observation program to address security requirements.

The European Space Agency has awarded Thales Alenia Space a contract to develop and build the Copernicus Sentinel-1 Next Generation Earth-observation satellite.

Space startup The Exploration Company has launched an ambitious push to develop a reusable heavy-lift launcher, looking to largely draw on private financing.

NASA on June 9 named three agency astronauts and a European Space Agency astronaut as its Artemis III mission crewmembers.

A Czech astronaut is poised to travel to the International Space Station under a Vast private astronaut mission, the European Space Agency said.

Axiom Space, developer of the commercial Axiom Station and a new generation of spacesuits, has announced the establishment of Axiom Space Switzerland.

Vast will fly two French astronauts on two separate missions scheduled for 2027, and will establish its European headquarters in Paris, the space technology company announced June 1.

The EU has completed a key review for the future Earth Observation Governmental Service (EOGS) program.

Thales Alenia Space has submitted an offer to the European Space Agency to demonstrate a LEO cargo return system before the end of the decade.

Vega C rocket launches ESA-China Smile satellite to study solar wind effects.

Dassault and OHB propose Vortex-S spaceplane for ESA, aiming to boost Europe’s space capabilities with reusable designs and autonomous missions.

The Exploration Company is looking to begin trials of a flight-representative reusable cryogenic liquid oxygen‑methane engine next year.

Swissto12 is to add an unfurling antenna reflector to a satellite in geostationary Earth orbit that it plans to use to broadcast directly to mobile devices.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Japan’s space agency, has agreed to work with the European Space Agency on the Ramses planetary defense mission.

Spire Global has opened its satellite manufacturing facility in Munich.

The European Space Agency and its military counterpart the European Defense Agency have agreed to study how to boost Earth observation for security purposes.

Dassault Aviation’s Vortex spaceplane demonstrator will use Arkadia Space-made thrusters for in-orbit maneuvering, the supplier said.

Europe leans into climate science with new missions as U.S. turns away from such projects.