European Space Agency

Planet Labs says it has secured a $230 million contract to build Pelican high-resolution satellites for an unnamed customer and announced a data provision deal with the European Space Agency (ESA) to support the Copernicus program.

ESA has signed a deal with Thales Alenia Space to build the EnVision spacecraft to explore Venus from its inner core to upper atmosphere, the company said.

Shifting geopolitical realities are driving European space leaders to push defense and security up the space agenda.

Europe aims to resume flying the Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket on Feb. 26, with the launch set to be the first managed by Arianespace.

ESA scientists say liquid water may not yet have been discovered on another planet because observation has not focused long enough on a given star.

The rocket company plans to fly its launcher from the SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland.

Led by France’s Tikehau Capital, the late-stage funding round was also joined by a trio of other venture capital (VC) firms.

ESA is prepping for launch of the Planetary Transits and Oscillations of Stars (Plato) mission, with the telescope to lift off on an Ariane 62 late next year.

To make up ground it is losing to SpaceX, China and others, Europe is looking to infuse greater competition into its space launch industry.

The details of the European Launcher Challenge are still in the works.

The revised plan shaves billions from projected program costs.

ESA has unveiled images the BepiColombo mission collected during its recent flight past Mercury when it skirted only 183 mi. above the planet's surface.

ESA is assessing what NASA’s plan changes for the Mars Sample Return mission mean and preparing for potential alterations to the Artemis lunar program.

The European Space Agency expects five Ariane 6 launches and four Vega-C liftoffs in 2025 as it heads into a busy year, with the agency's three-year-plan in the balance.

It is not quite Starlink, but Europe aims to have its own commercial satellite communication mega-ish constellation ready starting in 2030.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed €350 million ($363 million) in contracts with Avio to further evolve the Vega launcher family.

The pace of growth is down slightly from the 11% seen between 2022 and 2023.

Member states are expected to provide €4.8 billion and the European Union €1.7 billion, with an additional €1.2 billion coming from other sources.

Geopolitical and environmental challenges in the northern latitudes are prompting investments in satellite communications and infrastructure.

European officials plan to move quickly to put on contract risk reduction efforts for the IRIS² satellite communications program to mature critical tech.

The Dragon capsule has a return cargo that includes scientific research and equipment.

The EU and ESA signed a concession contract with a European industry consortium to deploy a roughly 292-satellite secure, sovereign communications system.

Even though Europe is back in the space launcher race, its progress still trails the U.S. and China.

Arianespace on Dec. 4 returned the Vega-C rocket to flight after a more than two-year hiatus following a mission failure in 2022.

The agency suspects maneuvering spacecraft could open the door to other science missions, including ones linked to Mars sample return missions.