European Launcher Challenge contracts awarded as Canada eyes 2028

Rocket Factory Augsburg, PLD Space and Isar Aerospace will share roughly €544 million (about $871 million) to get their rockets flying by the end of 2027, under the first contracts signed under the European Launcher Challenge and announced on August 28. The Challenge is a European Space Agency (ESA) program built to grow the continent’s launch industry beyond the state-backed Ariane and Vega rockets.

Just a week after the announcement, one of the three, Isar Aerospace, reached orbit for the first time on Sept. 5, deploying five satellites on its Spectrum rocket’s second flight — the first orbital launch by a commercial company from western Europe.

That launch also has consequences for Canada. Isar is also the company Maritime Launch Services has signed up for a dedicated pad at Spaceport Nova Scotia in a commercial deal signed in July, with plans to launch in 2028. That puts an ESA-funded rocket in the mix as Canada pushes to launch domestically.

The Challenge

The Challenge itself is nearly three years old. ESA’s council announced it in Seville, Spain, in November 2023, followed by a request for information in 2024 and a call for proposals in March 2025. Five companies — Rocket Factory Augsburg, PLD Space, Isar Aerospace, MaiaSpace and Orbex — were preselected that July, closing the tender’s first stage. A second round opened once member states approved funding in Bremen, and was followed by this announcement, which concluded the second stage of the Challenge.

ESA member states subscribed close to €902 million to the European Launcher Challenge at that Bremen meeting. The three signed contracts — Rocket Factory Augsburg’s RFA One, PLD Space’s Miura 5 and Isar’s Spectrum — require each company to reach orbit before the end of 2027, with a second phase of funding to help pay for vehicle upgrades by the end of 2028. MaiaSpace hasn’t signed yet; ESA says that contract is close. Orbex, the fifth of the five originally preselected, went into administration in February, before it could convert its preselection into a funded contract.

RFA One, launching from a spaceport in Scotland’s Shetland Islands, is built to carry up to 1,300 kilograms to sun-synchronous orbit. Miura 5, launching from French Guiana with an eye toward a reusable first stage, carries less — up to 540 kilograms to the same orbit. Spectrum, the only one of the three that has actually flown, sits in between, rated for about 700 kilograms.

“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. 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.” Lucia Linares, ESA head of strategy and launches for space transportation, in the agency’s announcement

Canada’s parallel bet

Canada’s Department of National Defence is running a similar contest. Launch the North, a $105-million Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) challenge, has already put $8.3 million each into three companies to develop light-lift rockets able to reach orbit on short notice. The target, as in Europe: an initial capability by 2028.

NordSpace is building its Tundra rocket, which will launch from its site in Newfoundland and Labrador. Reaction Dynamics is developing Aurora-8 around storable, non-cryogenic propellant meant for mobile launch from land or sea. Canada Rocket Company is aiming past the light-lift requirement, toward a medium-lift vehicle, though the first phase of the IDEaS challenge requires it to start with a light-lift design.

Put side by side, the two efforts differ: Europe is further along in its Challenge and is putting up substantially more funding overall. That’s not to say Canada won’t provide more funding going forward.