Ariane 6 launches Galileo L14 mission on December 17, 2025 with satellites SAT 33 and SAT 34, which will boost the precision, availability, and security of European satellite navigation. We bring an overview of the journey from factory to orbit, hydrazine fueling, SCAPE suits, and the strategic importance of the system for everyday users.
The ESA Ministerial Council CM25 in Bremen adopted a record budget of €22.1 billion, focused on Europe's technological sovereignty in space. Funding increases for GSTP, security components, and AI, quantum, propulsion, and sustainable technologies are reshaping industry, innovation, and geopolitics.
ESA's HydroGNSS mission, launched by a Falcon 9 as part of the Transporter-15 flight, brings a new generation of small satellites for global monitoring of soil moisture, floods, permafrost, and biomass, while the Italian IRIDE and Greek ICEYE strengthen European space infrastructure for climate risk management.
The European Space Agency and Norway plan the ESA Arctic Space Centre in Tromsø to improve satellite climate monitoring, enhance weather forecasts, navigation, and communications, and strengthen security, scientific cooperation, innovation, and sustainable development in the sensitive Arctic region.
In the heart of Mauritania hides the Richat Structure, a colossal "Eye of the Sahara" about 50 kilometers in diameter. This natural geological phenomenon, formed by the uplift of magma and millions of years of erosion, is now captured by Sentinel-2 satellites in stunning natural and false colors. The structure reveals rock layers older than 100 million years.
At the ESA Ministerial Council CM25 in Bremen, Member States approved more than 4.4 billion euros for strengthening European space transportation, modernizing Ariane 6 and Vega-C rockets, developing Space Rider, and building a new space hub on the island of Santa Maria in the Azores, thereby reinforcing Europe's autonomy in space and encouraging the entry of new commercial launch service providers.