Agence spatiale européenne
The European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to space exploration, with 22 member states. Founded in 1975, ESA shapes Europe's space capabilities, ensuring investments in space deliver benefits to European citizens, working across the entire space sector. ESA develops and operates Earth observation, navigation, telecommunications, and astronomy satellites and sends probes to explore the solar system, partnering with agencies like NASA, JAXA and commercial partners like Airbus. Key programs include the development of launch vehicles like Ariane and Vega, the Galileo satellite navigation system, and missions like Rosetta and BepiColombo.
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BEAMSAT-5G is funded under ESA’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems program.
The Italian Aerospace Research Centre has completed key testing of the thermal protection system for the European Space Agency’s Space Rider spacecraft.
The first two Zero Debris Week editions took place in 2024 and 2025 at the European Space Agency’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany.
ESA plans to hand over operational responsibility for Space Rider to a commercial operator after the initial mission and refurbishment are complete.
SBQuantum has secured contracts with the European Space Agency.
On April 9, Sateliot and Keysight Technologies won the ESA and GSMA Foundry Challenge for a blockchain-enabled anomaly detection system for 5G non-terrestrial networks.
In February 2026, Sateliot formed a partnership with Latvia's LMT Group and ESA to develop a universal dual-mode IoT module that switches between terrestrial and satellite networks.
ESA’s Rosalind Franklin mission is scheduled to launch in 2028.
NASA will provide the lander propulsion system, RTGs, and portions of a scientific instrument for ESA’s Rosalind Franklin mission.
Kepler’s participation in ESA’s HydRON initiative is backed by the Canadian Space Agency through the Canada-ESA Cooperative Agreement.
SES’s multiorbit ESA system provides global coverage, redundancy, and low-latency performance.
ESA’s ARTES ScyLight program will receive nearly €1 billion, or $1.18 billion, over the next three years.
SES’s multiorbit ESA system has 500 completed installations and 1,000 commitments in development.
Kepler said that Canadian companies can access otherwise restricted European space markets through Canada’s ESA status and that such access typically generates follow-on business valued at triple the initial contract.
Canada is ESA’s sole non-European cooperating state.
ESA’s HydRON project involves multiple terminal providers.
On April 14, the European Space Agency contracted the third tranche of the HydRON optical communications project.
On April 15, 2026, the European Space Agency awarded a multimillion-euro contract to a consortium led by Kepler Communications to develop the user-terminal segment of the High-throughput Optical Network (HydRON).
Kepler is the system prime for ESA’s HydRON optical communications project.
Creotech Instruments signed a €52 million contract with ESA for the CAMILA constellation in April 2025.