https://spacewatch.global/tag/esa/ AN INDEPENDENT PERSPECTIVE ON SPACE Mon, 10 Aug 2026 08:58:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.3 https://spacewatch.global/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SpaceWatchGlobal-Sign-90x90.png https://spacewatch.global/tag/esa/ 32 32 https://spacewatch.global/2026/08/hispasat-confirms-spanish-commitments-to-iris%c2%b2-as-ground-segment-prime-contractor-with-the-program-targeting-2029-for-initial-launches/ Mon, 10 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=76336 The European Commission and ESA have concluded IRIS² negotiations with the SpaceRISE consortium (Eutelsat, HispaSat, SES), naming HispaSat prime contractor for the ground segment, with initial launches targeted for 2029.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/08/axiom-space-appoints-dr-renato-krpoun-as-chief-of-international-operations-for-new-swiss-subsidiary/ Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=76270 Axiom Space has appointed Dr. Renato Krpoun to lead its new Swiss subsidiary in Lucerne as Chief of International Operations for EMEA.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/08/spacewatchgl-feature-the-kriening-10-and-what-it-revealed/ Wed, 05 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=76176 Ten posts, one a day, each built on an uncomfortable question about European space - and released while their author was on holiday. Torsten Kriening on what The Kriening 10 revealed, where he was corrected, and why the questions matter now.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/08/spacewatchgl-opinion-europes-space-dilemma-sovereignty-or-global-broker/ Tue, 04 Aug 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=76091
Written by K.-P. Ludwig
Europe cannot outspend the United States or outscale China. Instead of chasing a two-horse race, this opinion argues that Europe's future influence may lie in combining strategic autonomy with global partnership, sustainability and rule-making.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/08/nasa-selects-lunar-outpost-to-advance-its-starweave-autonomous-robotic-swarm-software/ Tue, 04 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=76141 NASA has selected Lunar Outpost to advance Starweave, its distributed software layer enabling robotic swarms to operate as autonomous, coordinated fleets for lunar and Mars infrastructure.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/esa-commissions-optical-ground-station-in-luxembourg-to-advance-quantum-enabled-ultra-secure-satellite-communications/ Wed, 29 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=76018 The European Space Agency has commissioned a new optical ground station in Windhof, Luxembourg, to help test an ultra-secure, international communications network. This follows the ground breaking ceremony in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, for a dedicated OGS to communicate with the EAGLE-1 satellite for quantum technology-based ultra-secure communication earlier this month. ]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/farnborough-2026-day-2-laura-todd-rosa-schmidt-on-uk-billions-nasas-new-chief-and-the-how-behind-collaboration/ Mon, 27 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75963 Day two from Farnborough 2026: Laura Todd and Rosa Schmidt debrief the opening day - Rosa's panel on European space leadership, the UK's multi-billion commitment, NASA chief Jared Isaacman's call for Europe to fill the gaps rather than duplicate, and the buzzwords defining the Space Zone.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/esa-awards-execution-contract-for-magpie-esas-lunar-polar-ice-exploration-mission-to-ispace-europe/ Mon, 27 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75945 ESA has awarded ispace-EUROPE the second phase of the MAGPIE (Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration.) contract, Europe's first lunar polar ice exploration mission. The contract, valued at €65 million, funds the mission's full remaining delivery, including rover and payload development, manufacture, testing, transportation to the lunar surface and lunar surface operations.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/esa-and-uksa-launch-new-incubed-funding-call-for-eo-based-proposals-in-the-united-kingdom/ Mon, 27 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75954 ESA has launched a new call for proposals in collaboration with the UK Space Agency, through the ESA InCubed program. This comes as more than £2.5 million were awarded to five projects that use satellite data to improve public services during 2024's InCubed call. For the new round of applications. ESA and the UK Space Agency invite UK-based organizations to submit proposals that demonstrate a clear route to market, credible commercial demand and a strong plan for operational deployment, before an August 21 deadline.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/poland-to-build-12-iris2-constellation-satellites-after-agreement-with-the-european-commission/ Wed, 22 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75851 Polish Minister Marcin Kierwiński and European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius have signed an agreement for Poland's participation in the construction of the IRIS2 constellation satellites, marking a new chapter in Poland's security. ]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/spacewatchgl-opinion-the-space-economy-now-wears-a-uniform-is-europe-ready/ Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75794 Fifty-three percent of the world's government space spending now goes to defence. Analysing ESA's Report on the Space Economy 2026, SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening argues the space economy has become a defence economy - and that Europe, an order of magnitude behind the US and China, must now decide whether it will be a shareholder or a customer. ]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/deltavision-raises-e10-2-million-to-scale-production-of-spacecraft-propulsion-components/ Tue, 21 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75832 deltaVision, a manufacturer of fluidic systems for launchers, satellites, lunar landers and orbital servicing vehicles, has raised €10.2 million in its first funding round, With the capital raised, the Germany-based company will expand its production of valves and other propulsion components to 5,000 units per year to keep pace with rising demand. ]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/spacewatchgl-opinion-the-invisible-crew-that-carried-us-to-the-moon/ Mon, 20 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75694
Written by Judith Delany
When the Artemis II astronauts returned to Bremen, they thanked the engineers behind Orion's European Service Module. Yet their visit also highlighted a far larger truth: every human space mission depends on an invisible crew of partners, families and loved ones whose sacrifices rarely make the headlines, but without whom exploration would not be possible.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/artemis-ii-crew-returns-to-bremen-to-thank-europes-service-module-team/ Wed, 15 Jul 2026 07:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75689 NASA's Artemis II crew returned to Airbus in Bremen to thank the workforce behind the European Service Module - and delivered rare first-hand testimony on how Orion flew, from a trans-lunar burn accurate enough to skip two correction manoeuvres to hand-flying the spacecraft with thrusters deliberately disabled.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/governments-around-the-world-spent-e119b-in-space-last-year-esas-space-economy-report-reveals/ Wed, 15 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75663 Governments around the world made a global public investment of €119 billion in 2025 in the space industry, according to the European Space Agency's newly-released Space Economy Report, showing a slight 3% decline from 2024. The Report offers a comprehensive overview of the latest developments shaping Europe's space sector, helping policymakers, industry and stakeholders better understand the status and trends of the space industry, globally and in Europe specifically.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/voyager-completes-astrobotic-acquisition-in-time-for-new-nasa-298m-moon-base-contract-award/ Tue, 14 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75650 Voyager Technologies has completed its acquisition of American lunar delivery, lunar power, reusable rocketry company Astrobotic Technology, Inc, positioning Voyager as a Fully Integrated Commercial Lunar Platform. The close comes as NASA awards two new lunar lander missions to Astrobotic in view of the Agency's Moon Base program. Under this $298M award, Astrobotic (now Voyager)'s Peregrine-2 will launch in 2028 and deliver a suite of three NASA-directed payloads to a landing site near the Gruithuisen Domes on the near side of the Moon. ]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/lunar-outpost-europe-joins-esas-moonraker-lunar-mapping-mission/ Tue, 14 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75636 Lunar Outpost has announced that its European subsidiary, Lunar Outpost Europe, will be contributing to Moonraker, the lunar LiDAR mapping mission being led by NUVIEW GmbH. Selected by ESA for a Phase A study under the Small Missions initiative, Moonraker will generate high-resolution, three-dimensional elevation data of the lunar South Pole to support landing site assessment, hazard identification, and mission planning.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/esa-and-poland-to-establish-new-civil-security-and-resilience-center-in-warsaw/ Tue, 14 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75644 ESA and Poland are establishing a new ESA center focusing on civil security and resilience in Warsaw, supporting the efficient and coordinated development of European capabilities in these strategically important fields. The announcement was made during a joint press conference held in the Polish capital yesterday, 13 July by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk and Minister of Finance and Economy Andrzej Domański.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/the-isus-central-campus-in-strasbourg-has-been-liquidated-following-funding-cuts/ Thu, 09 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75538 The bankrupt International Space University (ISU) Central Campus in Strasbourg, France has been liquidated by court order, following cuts in funding from CNES, ESA and the local government earlier this year. A proposal by faculty and staff to keep ISU France in operation was rejected after a court hearing on July 6.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/esa-awards-aeolus-2-wind-sensing-satellites-design-and-build-to-airbus/ Tue, 07 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75437 Airbus Defense and Space has signed the initial contract for the design and build of the Aeolus-2 wind sensing satellite from the European Space Agency (ESA). Aeolus-2 will follow the first Aeolus wind sensing satellite which Airbus also built and launched back in 2018. ]]>