Ministers from Member, Associate and Cooperating States of the European Space Agency (ESA) gathered on November 26 and 27, 2025 in Bremen for the Ministerial Council CM25, one of the most important political forums for the future of European space activities. The focus was on the implementation of Strategy 2040 – a long-term plan by which ESA aims to ensure that space remains a tool for security, economic growth, and technological sovereignty of the European Union. Among the key decisions stands out an investment package in European space transportation worth more than 4.4 billion euros, thereby operationalizing the principle decisions adopted back at the ESA Council meeting at ministerial level in November 2023 in Seville.

In the past few years, Europe has gone through a period without full, stable, and independent access to space – the end of the Ariane 5 program, the cessation of cooperation with Russia, and the temporary suspension of the Vega-C rocket opened serious questions about the security of supply of launch services. CM25 comes after Ariane 6 and Vega-C have re-established operational capability, but also at a time when private competitors from the US and other parts of the world are aggressively lowering prices and increasing launch frequency. In this context, the political message of the ministers in Bremen is very clear: Europe must retain its own, autonomous, and competitive system of access to space – not just for prestige, but for security, economy, climate policy, and digital sovereignty.

Ministerial Council Defining Europe's Space Future

The ESA Ministerial Council meets approximately every three years to determine the Agency's strategic direction and adopt multi-year budgets by program lines. CM25 is the first ministerial council directly leaning on the new Strategy 2040, a document in which ESA defines five key goals by the middle of the century: from climate and digital transformation, through security and defense, to strengthening Europe's technological and industrial autonomy. Space transportation – launch vehicles, reentry spacecraft, and associated infrastructure on Earth – is one of the areas where this strategy is most concretely translated into operational programs.

In Bremen, Member, Associate and Cooperating States confirmed they wish to continue the model in which ESA coordinates public investments, while industry – from large prime companies to new private launch start-ups – takes on an increasing role in the development and commercialization of launch services. In practice, this means that ESA, alongside funding amounting to more than 4.4 billion euros for the space transportation sector, is simultaneously redefining relationships with the industry: from the classic "tailor-made program" model (firmly defined by project contracts) towards a more flexible, commercially oriented approach where the Agency becomes an "institutional client" among others.

Ministers thus confirmed three major pillars of space transportation policy: preservation and modernization of existing Ariane 6 and Vega-C rockets, accelerating the development of a new generation of commercial European launch services through the European Launcher Challenge, and investments in infrastructure – from the European spaceport in French Guiana to the future European space hub on the Azorean island of Santa Maria.

Independent Access to Space: Ariane 6 and Vega-C as the Backbone

Europe's independent access to space today relies in practice on two rockets: the heavy-lift Ariane 6 and the lighter Vega-C for small and medium payloads. After Ariane 6 performed its inaugural flight in July 2024, the rocket successfully executed its first commercial mission on March 6, 2025, carrying the French military observation satellite CSO-3 into a Sun-synchronous orbit. This opened a new chapter for the European heavy rocket which should, according to plans, reach a rhythm of about ten launches per year by 2027 and ensure stable capacity for scientific, civil, and security missions from Europe.

Vega-C, the successor to the original Vega rocket, went through a difficult period after a failed commercial flight in late 2022. After a detailed investigation and reconstruction of critical components of the second stage, the rocket returned to operational use on December 5, 2024, with the launch of the Sentinel-1C satellite within the European Earth observation program Copernicus. With that return, Europe once again possesses a complete range of launch capabilities – from light to heavy rockets – that are fully under European control and launched from European space territory.

Decisions made at CM25 ensure that Ariane 6 and Vega-C will receive funding for regular maintenance, reliability improvement, cost optimization, and increasing annual launch frequency. Both rockets will also receive a strong technological boost through the introduction of the new P160C engine, improvements in launch logistics, and potential incorporation of new technical solutions emerging from ESA research programs.

New Momentum: European Launcher Challenge

One of the most ambitious instruments with which ESA aims to respond to the global race in commercial launch services is the competition program European Launcher Challenge. It is a kind of "accelerator" for European launch start-ups and new private operators, designed to complement, rather than replace, the existing Ariane and Vega-C rockets. Ahead of CM25, ESA selected five European launch service providers that made the shortlist; at the council itself, members confirmed that, after detailed evaluation, each of these projects could receive up to 169 million euros in support.

These funds have a dual role. First, they enable selected companies to accelerate market entry – from completing rocket development to establishing serial production and commercial launches. Second, they ensure that European institutions (ESA, European Commission, national space agencies) will have a competitive array of domestic options for launching their satellites and missions, instead of relying on supply chains outside Europe. In return, operators undertake the obligation to build sustainable business models, open to both institutional and commercial users.

The European Launcher Challenge thus fits into the broader trend of "commercialization" of space in Europe: ESA ceases to be exclusively a development agency and increasingly acts as an anchor customer of services, similar to the way NASA in the US uses commercial carriers for supply and crew transport to orbital stations. For European companies, this is an opportunity to enter a market segment dominated by American and other private players, while Europe simultaneously retains control over a key part of critical infrastructure – access to space.

Technologies for the Next Generation of Rockets

Along with support for operational rockets and new commercial launch projects, CM25 also confirms the continuation of the strategic Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP). It is a technological "incubator" in which ESA, together with industrial partners and research institutions, develops and tests key technologies for the next generation of European space transportation.

Among the priorities of the FLPP stand out:

• reusability – development of rockets or rocket parts that can be returned, inspected, and reused, thereby significantly lowering costs per launch;


• advanced propulsion – introduction of new engines using cryogenic oxygen-methane mixture which offers a more favorable thrust-to-cost ratio and is suitable for reuse;


• in-space manufacturing – 3D printing and assembly technologies in microgravity intended to enable the fabrication of parts or entire structures outside Earth;


• in-orbit refueling and space logistics – development of fuel tanks, "logistics hubs," and standardized interfaces for future orbital infrastructure;


• digitalization and automation – use of advanced simulations, digital twins, and automated control systems to shorten mission preparation time and increase safety.

A special place in this portfolio is held by the new P160C engine. It is a powerful, solid-fuel rocket motor that will replace the existing P120C on versions of Ariane 6 and Vega-C from the middle of this decade. The P160C is about a meter taller and carries more fuel, which directly increases rocket payload capacity and enables competitiveness in the market of increasingly heavy and complex satellite missions. In April 2025, the engine passed a key qualification static test at the European Spaceport in French Guiana, confirming it as the foundation for future upgrades of European launch systems.

Alongside solid-fuel engines, ESA is also investing in the development of new liquid-fuel engines using oxygen and methane, including the so-called High Thrust Engine, a cryogenic engine with a thrust of around 60 tons, envisioned as the core of future heavy and potentially reusable rockets. LOX-methane engines are attractive due to the combination of high specific impulse, good storage, and compatibility with reuse concepts – mixtures where methane is used as fuel are already being developed by numerous global players, and Europe wants to ensure its own technological base in this area through ESA programs.

Space Rider: The European Space Laboratory Coming Home

One of the most recognizable programs that ministers supported through decisions at CM25 is Space Rider – the first European reusable spacecraft that returns to Earth. Space Rider is an uncrewed robotic laboratory, roughly the size of two vans, designed to be carried into orbit by a Vega-C rocket. After launch, the spacecraft should spend about two months in low Earth orbit, providing a stable and controlled environment for scientific experiments, testing new technologies, and commercial user missions.

The special value of Space Rider lies in its return capability: after completing the mission, the spacecraft enters the atmosphere, lands on a runway, and can be prepared again for the next flight. This opens the possibility for European companies, research institutes, and start-ups to access laboratory conditions in space faster and at a lower cost than was possible with classic one-way capsules. The program is designed as an "end-to-end" service: from launch, through orbital stay, to return and analysis of samples and hardware.

According to current plans, the first flight of Space Rider is expected in 2027, precisely in the period covered by the financial framework confirmed at CM25. This means that the new decisions of the ministers are directly linked to the completion of the spacecraft's development, mission configuration, and construction of necessary ground infrastructure – from the control center and landing runway to laboratories for processing returned payloads.

French Guiana: Modernization of Europe's Spaceport

The central place of the European launch ecosystem remains Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. Both Ariane 6 and Vega-C launch from Kourou, and now new engines like the P160C are also tested there. CM25 confirms that ESA Member States consider this infrastructure as strategic as the rockets themselves – without a reliable and safe launch complex, there is no independent access to space.

In the coming years, a series of key systems in Kourou will be modernized and expanded. Investments are planned in:

• propellant infrastructure, with an emphasis on increasing production of "greener" hydrogen and more efficient energy use;


• payload processing and integration facilities, to enable simultaneous preparation of multiple different missions;


• telemetry stations, control centers, and flight monitoring systems, including cybersecurity and protection against jamming;


• meteorological stations, fire and rescue services that monitor every launch cycle;


• logistics infrastructure – from access roads and warehouses to accommodation capacities for technical teams and partners.

Modernization will not only cover the immediate launch area but also a series of test facilities (including static engine test stands) and auxiliary buildings. The goal is to ensure that the spaceport can keep up with the increased launch frequency of Ariane 6 and Vega-C, but also be ready for new systems – including potential future reusable rockets or new players from the European Launcher Challenge.

Santa Maria in the Azores: Future European Space Hub

Alongside Kourou, decisions and accompanying events around CM25 have further drawn attention to the island of Santa Maria in the Azores. Portugal and ESA have been collaborating for years on developing space capacities on that Atlantic archipelago, and Santa Maria is home to an important ESA ground station tracking launches from French Guiana. In the last few years, the Portuguese space agency Portugal Space and partners have taken a series of steps to turn the island into a central "hub" for access to and return from space.

Based on past cooperation, during a side event of CM25, the joint ambition of ESA and the Portuguese side to develop a full-fledged space center on Santa Maria was confirmed. In practice, this includes building and equipping infrastructure for Space Rider landing, as well as a broader complex with a control center, laboratories for processing returned payloads, and capacities for integration and testing of smaller spacecraft.

It was previously confirmed that Santa Maria would be the destination runway for the inaugural flight of Space Rider, planned for 2027. The Portuguese government and Portugal Space have meanwhile also granted the first national spaceport license to the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium, paving the way for future suborbital and, in perspective, orbital launch activities from the island. Combined with ESA investments, this positions Santa Maria as a future European space hub in the Atlantic – a place from which launches from Kourou can be tracked, return vehicles like Space Rider can land, and potentially new generations of smaller rockets can be launched.

For Portugal, this cooperation means strengthening the national space ecosystem, but also creating new high-skilled jobs in a region that has so far relied primarily on traditional sectors like tourism and fishing. For ESA and wider Europe, it is an investment in infrastructure that increases the flexibility of the space system – the ability to land return vehicles on EU territory, in a controlled environment, also has a clear strategic dimension.

Three Pillars of the New Space Transportation Policy

The decisions and financial packages confirmed at CM25 can be summarized in three interconnected entities. The first pillar consists of the operational rockets Ariane 6 and Vega-C: they ensure that Europe possesses independent and reliable access to space today and can launch everything – from scientific telescopes and Earth observation satellites to navigation and defense systems. Their modernization via the P160C engine and other improvements is key for Europe to remain competitive compared to global leaders led by reusable rockets.

The second pillar is the European Launcher Challenge and a broader support package for new commercial launch service providers. Here, Europe seeks a way to combine the best of two worlds: the stability and reliability of traditional state-funded rockets, and the agility and innovation of private start-ups. If the challenge succeeds, Europe could, as early as the second half of the decade, have a portfolio of small and medium rockets developed in the private sector, ready to take on part of the burden in the satellite and microsatellite launch market.

The third pillar consists of infrastructure – both in French Guiana and in the Azores, but also in the network of ground stations worldwide. Investments in the Kourou spaceport ensure Europe is ready for a higher number of launches, new types of rockets, and stricter environmental standards. The development of the space hub on Santa Maria creates a new element of European "space logistics" in the Atlantic, closely linked with Space Rider and future small return vehicles. Additionally, existing ground stations and telecommunication centers, including those with launch tracking capabilities, are gaining an increasing role in safe and resilient mission management.

When all is added up, CM25 in Bremen confirms that Europe does not wish to abandon the ambition to be an equal global space actor. In a world where space is increasingly intertwined with climate policy, digital sovereignty, defense, and the economy, decisions on space transportation are far more than a technical question of rocket choice – they are decisions about what place Europe wants to occupy in the international order by 2040 and beyond.