“This milestone kicks off the European Launcher Challenge, encouraging competition among European launch providers," says ESA’s Director of Space Transportation Géraldine Naja. "Through this funding, ESA is supporting the development of European launch capabilities, helping to strengthen Europe's competitiveness and broaden the range of launch services available to institutional and commercial customers.”

“With these contracts, ESA is turning ambition into action. ESA has set the Challenge and created the conditions for new European launch providers to accelerate their ramp-ups and grow,” says ESA’s head of strategy and launches for Space Transportation Lucia Linares, “Now it is up to the challengers to prove they can deliver reliable launch services for Europe and compete: getting to space is not easy and never guaranteed.”