News

Our Milky Way galaxy never sits still: it rotates and wobbles. And now, data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia space telescope reveal that our galaxy also has a giant wave rippling outwards from its centre.

After meticulous preparation and rigorous evaluation, ESA’s Member States have selected WIVERN to become the 11th Earth Explorer mission to be implemented through the agency’s prestigious FutureEO programme.

The European Space Agency has awarded Italian rocket builder Avio a €40 million contract to design a reusable rocket stage demonstrator.

There was a time in history when Portugal leveraged its strategic geographical location, on the edge of the European landmass and facing the vast expanses of the Atlantic Ocean, to become the launchpad for what came to be known as the Era of Exploration. Fast forward six centuries and Portugal is ready to play this geographical card once again, this time to participate in a new chapter of the space era.

Germany will invest €35 billion ($41 billion) in space-related defense projects by 2030, stepping up the country’s technological independence and ability to protect its assets in orbit amid an increasing militarization of outer space, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.

Italian rocket builder Avio has signed a launch services agreement with US-based launch aggregator SpaceLaunch for a Vega C launch carrying an Earth observation satellite for an “extra-European institutional customer” in 2027.

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) future launcher preparatory program is crafting a space transportation ecosystem, guiding the companies and engineers of today to develop and test the technologies required to meet future needs.

The French space agency CNES has confirmed to European Spaceflight that the debut of its upgraded FROG reusable rocket demonstrator has been pushed to 2026. The FROG-H vehicle had been expected to complete initial test flights in early 2025.

Europe’s space sector gets lift as EIB provides Belgian satellite maker Aerospacelab €37.5 million in financing Financing supported by InvestEU, the European Union’s investment programme, will back scale-up whose expertise lies in manufacturing cutting-edge satellites manufacturing.

ArianeGroup has announced that the first Themis reusable rocket demonstrator has been fully integrated and is on its own four legs on a launch pad in Sweden. The demonstrator will now be put through a combined test campaign before an initial low-altitude hop test is performed.

New Zealand's military partners in space in Europe are talking more openly about war in space.

A 12 September call for proposals published by the French space agency CNES has revealed that the inaugural flight of the Callisto reusable rocket demonstrator has slipped from 2026 to 2027.