The planned STFC cuts will impact both future grants and projects already underway.

The conference highlighted the need for the European Union to strengthen its decision-making capacity in the space domain and to overcome fragmentation and duplication among member states.

Conference panels identified the protection of space infrastructures for communications, navigation, and observation as a priority for European security.

The 18th European Space Conference took place on 27–28 January in Brussels.

The European Space Conference convened policymakers, institutional representatives, and industrial operators to discuss EU space strategies and integration between space and defence.

The conference served as a platform for high-level dialogue on upcoming European space and defence initiatives and national space strategies.

The discussions at the conference emphasized the need to align national policies, EU initiatives, and industrial capabilities for European space policy coherence.

The Brussels conference drew attention to the international dimension in which EU space policies must confront differing industrial and geopolitical models adopted by other global actors.

Leonardo Space published a post on X about the 18th European Space Conference and its high-level dialogue on space and defence initiatives.

The conference underscored public–private collaboration as a key factor for translating political guidance into concrete operational space capabilities.

The conference emphasized that European industry must support implementation of EU space strategies through advanced technological capabilities and competitive industrial supply chains.

The conference recommended that Europe pursue integration, interoperability, and industrial sustainability to enhance its coherence and competitiveness in space.

Lessons learned from analysis of the Falcon 9 reentry will be used to draw general conclusions about the predictability of reentries and risks associated with long upper stages and to support educational outreach activities to raise awareness.

Public launch statistics indicate there were approximately 80 orbital rocket launches in 2015 and 317 successful orbital rocket launches in 2025.

At least four fragments of the Falcon 9 second stage survived reentry and landed in multiple locations across Poland.

The ESA study aims to maximize the scientific return from the Falcon 9 reentry event using publicly available data because access to SpaceX confidential information is considered unlikely.

The ESA tender states that significant uncertainties remain about the physics and dynamics of destructive reentry in the very low Earth orbit regime below 150 kilometers altitude.

Understanding the reentry dynamics of rocket upper stages is increasingly relevant given current global launch activity levels.

No injuries or material damage were reported from the Falcon 9 second stage reentry, but at least one fragment landed in a populated area.

The European Space Agency published a tender for a study examining the reentry and breakup of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 upper stage that fell on Polish territory in February 2025.

Poland’s Space Agency (Polsa) dismissed its director after information about the Falcon 9 reentry was sent to incorrect email addresses at the Ministry of National Defence.

On 21 January, the ESA Space Safety Programme published a tender for a study that will use data from the Falcon 9 upper-stage reentry over Poland to help predict risks associated with reentries of long upper stages.

On the early morning of 19 February 2025, the Falcon 9 second stage experienced an uncontrolled atmospheric reentry over Poland.

The IRUS study will draw on UK national expertise in robotics, modular design, and servicing systems and will include business analysis for the in-orbit servicing market.

The European Space Agency awarded a contract valued at approximately $475,807.50 to Astroscale UK to lead the design of the In-Orbit Refurbishment and Upgrading Service (IRUS).

The first IRUS mission concept will demonstrate how upgrades can be performed on a BAE Systems modular satellite platform in space to save cost, reduce launch requirements, and improve resilience.

The IRUS activity aligns with ESA’s 2040 strategy and contributes to ESA’s objective of positioning European industry as leaders in sustainable orbital operations.

ESA’s 2040 goal includes becoming space-debris neutral by 2040, and the IRUS demonstration lays groundwork for future ISAM missions toward that goal.

BAE Systems is involved in IRUS in the role of a future in-orbit servicing client and as the partner for demonstrating upgrades on a modular satellite platform.

IRUS is designed to reduce the need for replacement launches and mitigate the risk of creating additional orbital debris.

Astroscale’s existing Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) technology provides the foundation for the IRUS study and future in-orbit servicing missions.

BAE Systems will contribute space systems and defense integration capabilities to the IRUS effort, enabling dual-use applications for civil and defense space activities.

IRUS stands for In-Orbit Refurbishment and Upgrading Service and is a mission concept to enable satellites to be upgraded, repaired, and extended while in orbit.

IRUS focuses on in-orbit refurbishment and enhancement rather than disposal, creating a new class of orbital capability distinct from debris-removal missions.

The IRUS program is intended to support innovation and create high-value employment across the UK space sector while strengthening the UK’s leadership in ISAM.

The IRUS contract is an eight-month Phase A study to develop the technical groundwork and commercial case for in-orbit refurbishment and upgrading services.

The IRUS initiative supports the European Space Agency’s Space Safety Program and Europe’s efforts to reduce orbital risks and ensure safe operations for future generations.

The IRUS study will assess the technical feasibility and commercial viability of upgrading satellites in orbit by replacing degraded or out-of-date subsystems such as batteries, solar panels, and on-board computers.

Sirius Space Services partnered with US-based consulting and venture-investment firm Starburst for its study.

The call for the Mobile Responsive Launch System pilot project was initially published in July 2025.

Under the evaluation framework in the 21 January notice, proposal quality accounted for 70% of the score and cost accounted for 30% of the score.

The GMV-led consortium includes Novaspace, the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), and T4i Technology for Propulsion and Innovation.

The European Commission commissioned three parallel studies to examine the potential of a mobile responsive launch system capable of rapidly deploying satellites into orbit from non-permanent ground platforms.

An Official Contract Award Notice published on 21 January identified one study lead as the French subsidiary of UK-headquartered consultancy PwC, another as Spanish space technology company GMV’s Aerospace and Defence division, and the third as French launch startup Sirius Space Services.

Under the terms of the contracts, the three studies will be completed over a ten-month period.

On 29 January the European Commission selected three consortia to conduct parallel studies for the Mobile Responsive Launch System pilot project.

The PwC-led consortium includes HyPrSpace, Andøya Spaceport, Argotec, Atlantic Spaceport Consortium, IDS Corporation, and Arctic Space.

The maximum award per study was €650,000 and the total budget for the three studies was €1.95 million.

The combined award for the three studies totaled €1,894,661.

The €22.3 billion three-year budget commitment represents a 32% increase from the previous cycle.