The European Space Agency has signed an accord with Thales Alenia Space to advances its effort to deploy a European quantum key distribution government service.
ESA is expanding its efforts to foster reusability in its launch systems, signing an agreement with Avio to work toward an upper stage that could be reused.
Latitude’s Zephyr microlauncher will fly at the end of next year, a one-year delay from its earlier schedule, commercial director Adeline Pitrois said Sept. 17.
The ESA is poised to ask member states to back the European sovereign satellite communications IRIS² program with €600 million in the next funding cycle.
ESA awarded two launches to Isar Aerospace, giving a boost to the German rocket startup, as it also unveiled an agreement with Avio for three Vega-C missions.
ESA is finalizing the test phase of the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer satellite, a joint mission with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.