European Space Agency DG Aschbacher highlights 2026 milestones in annual address

European Space Agency (ESA) Director General (DG) Josef Aschbacher held his annual new year press briefing today which included highlighting Canada’s significant funding increase to the agency.

ESA has a new mandate and record budget of €22.3 billion (~CAD $36 billion) heading into 2026, the first year of its three year budget cycle. This represents a 31% increase over the previous cycle. The budget for 2026 is set at €8.26 billion (~CAD $13.34 billion).

Canada’s contribution for the cycle is €407.7 million (~ CAD $664.6 million) and Aschbacher highlighted the increase calling it “four times as much” and saying it was “very significant commitment.”

Other highlights from the briefing included Aschbacher discussing the Ariane 6 saying the launch vehicle has achieved “5 successful flights in just 17 months,” the fastest ramp-up of any heavy-lift launcher in the last 20 years. He also mentioned a target of reaching 9-10 flights per year by 2027. While this cadence is higher than the previous Ariane 5, it is a far cry from the SpaceX Falcon 9 (Block 5).

Aschbacher also mentioned the European Launcher Challenge which was heavily oversubscribed at the Ministerial Meeting, €900M+ vs €420M proposed (CAD $1.45 billion vs CAD $678.6 million), funding for new commercial competitors. He said five companies have passed the initial evaluation.

Aschbacher said ESA plans to 65 new satellites and missions in 2026 of which 48 are Earth observation satellites. This includes 33x Italian IRIDE, 11x Greek National SmallSat Programme, MTG I2, Metop-SG B, Sentinel 3C, and FLEX.

Major milestones for 2026 include:

• Human Spaceflight: French astronaut Sophie Adenot will launch to the ISS (no earlier than Feb 15).
• Moon: The European Service Module will power NASA’s Artemis II mission, returning humans to lunar orbit.
• Planetary Defense: The Hera mission will arrive at the Didymos/Dimorphos asteroid system to study the aftermath of NASA’s DART impact.
• Science: The Smile mission (joint with China) will launch to study solar wind. Galileo will see a new launch, and Euclid will release major cosmology data.

ESA Director General’s 2026 annual press briefing

DG annual press conference 2026 slides

Press briefing transcript

Participants:

• Ansuya Bodell: Head of Communication
• Dr. Josef Aschbacher: Director General (DG)
• Carole Mundell: Director of Science
• Dominique Gillieron: Representing Simonetta Cheli (Director of Earth Observation)
• Toni Tolker-Nielsen: Director of Space Transportation
• Daniel Neuenschwander: Director of Human and Robotic Exploration
• Laurent Jaffart: Director of Connectivity and Secure Communications
• Eric Morel de Westgaver: Director of Strategy, Legal and External Affairs
• Massimo Mercati: Head of Security Office

Note: The transcript has been edited for clarity

Opening remarks

Ansuya Bodell: Good morning to you all. I’m Ansuya Bodell, the Head of the Communication Department of the European Space Agency. First and foremost, I would like to wish all those present, but also those online, a very happy New Year to you and your loved ones. It’s a pleasure to start the year with you for the annual press conference of the Director General.

I’m here with the Director General, Dr. Josef Aschbacher, as well as our ESA directors. We have Carole Mundell, Science Director, online, and we have Dominique Gillieron who will represent Simonetta Cheli for Earth Observation.

As always, we will start with some words from our Director General, and upon the conclusion of these opening remarks, we will then take your questions. Please, for those that are in the room, indicate that you want to take the floor. For those that are online, please indicate on WebEx or the WhatsApp loop that you wish to ask a question. The replay will be available on our website and chats after this press conference. With no further ado, I now give the floor to our Director General.

Director General’s presentation

Dr. Josef Aschbacher: Thank you, Ansuya, and a very warm welcome also from my side. A very happy New Year to all of you, but also a big word of thank you for last year. I will show in a minute some of the achievements of last year, and many of you have helped us to get to this success in terms of reporting and spreading the news to the different corners of Europe and beyond into the world. I really would like to thank you for the excellent work you have done collectively. We have just reviewed the press feedback and the feedback from the different reporting, and it was extremely positive last year. Thank you for that.

But also, thank you to my own team. As Ansuya was mentioning, the directors are with me here at this press conference, but obviously, this involves hundreds and thousands of people in ESA, but also within industry and across Europe who are achieving these results.

Let me give you a short briefing, and I will divide this into two blocks. One is a very short recap of what happened last year—you have reported on it, but I’ll just recall some of the highlights. Then the main focus, obviously, is on what happens this year.

The first slide shows a number which you have reported widely: €22.3 billion, which was the subscription given by the Member States in Bremen at the ESA Ministerial Conference 2025. I don’t need to explain the number, but I really would like to say that this has been a historic moment and achievement from many perspectives. This amount of funding has surpassed all expectations and has surpassed any funding we have achieved in ESA in the last ministerials. It’s also the first time that we have achieved a funding subscription that is at the level of the proposal of the Director General. Usually, as I’ve said many times, the subscription levels are in the order of 90%, maybe 92%. So, this is really quite remarkable. You see the figures here: plus 31% compared to CM22, or plus 17% if we account for inflation.

Also, I have reported this already, but I think it is worth recalling: last year we launched 46 satellites and missions. This is an absolute record for ESA. If you put this in the wider context, this is a very high number of activities. You see some of them on the screen. There are 11 missions that are of larger size—missions like Biomass, Sentinel missions, Galileo missions, and others. There are nine commercial missions, meaning industry-led missions like SpainSat NG and several others, especially in telecommunications. And 26 missions that are third-party missions, like IRIDE, the Greek constellation, and others which we have also launched last year.

This very large number of satellites shows that ESA is working in both domains: on the more classical, complex, sophisticated missions like Biomass, Sentinels, or Galileo; but also in the New Space world where we are producing mid-sized, still quite sophisticated missions—Scout, IRIDE, or similar ones—in terms of performance, but smaller in size and sometimes in large numbers. This shows that ESA is fully in the New Space age, and we are developing space infrastructure across the board. Of course, we are not only launching satellites; there are ground segments, data systems, services, science, and many other things going hand-in-hand with our missions.

One of the faces you see moving by on the screen is the launch of the Polish astronaut, Sławosz Uznański, within the Axiom mission. This also counts in this number of 46.

We also had a number of remarkable successes from a science perspective. For data that has been released or other installations made, you see here the ESTRACK antenna. We have inaugurated a new antenna in Australia. We have released large data sets from Euclid. Juice was flying by Venus. BepiColombo completed its sixth Mercury flyby. We showed the first images of Biomass and other satellites. You have reported on all of them.

Last year we also celebrated our 50th anniversary. We have a new Member State: Slovenia, the 23rd country to become an ESA Member State. The ESA Strategy 2040 was released early last year in March. The ESA-EU relationship is an ongoing process but has really been strengthened through many occasions and collaborations, also at the level of the Commissioner, but obviously with the teams of DG DEFIS led by Timo Pesonen and his colleagues, and other services of the European Commission, including the Parliament and Council.

One point I would like to highlight is the launches we carried out last year: seven successful launches of Ariane 6 and Vega C. Four Ariane 6 launches, three Vega C launches. The inaugural flight was the year before, on the 9th of July 2024. But I’d like to point out the figure on the right-hand side. This is quite remarkable. You see several curves representing heavy-lift launchers starting their services over the last 20 years. What you see is the time taken for the first five flights. Ariane 6 has been the fastest of all the major heavy-lift launchers shown here in achieving five successful flights. This shows that the engineering of the Ariane 6 launcher system, the rocket, the ground segment, and all related elements have been extremely well done. The ramp-up has been going very fast—17 months between the first and the fifth flight. I would like to highlight this as a big achievement, with compliments to the teams involved: ArianeGroup, Arianespace, CNES, and obviously ESA.

Looking Ahead to 2026

Now, let me go to 2026. We have organized the achievements along the five goals of the Strategy 2040.

1. Protect our Planet and Climate Last year we launched 22 Earth Observation satellites. This year, we plan to launch 48 Earth Observation satellites. Altogether, there will be more satellites launched in ESA—I will disclose the figure at the end. But in Earth Observation alone, we plan 48.

• 33 are IRIDE satellites for the Italian constellation.
• 11 are Greek national satellites.
• Larger missions include MTG (Meteosat Third Generation), MetOp-SG, Sentinel-3C, and FLEX.

This is an absolute record.

2. Planetary Safety and Space Safety

• The new Flyeye telescope is in Matera today and will be inaugurated, with operations starting at the new site in Sicily this year.
• Hera, our mission to the binary asteroid system Didymos and Dimorphos, will arrive and start measurements of the impact created by our NASA colleagues’ DART mission.
• Cluster: We are targeting the reentry of Cluster 3 and 4 towards the end of this year.

3. Explore and Discover We have 15 missions in operation and 12 in preparation within the Science Directorate.

• Euclid has already released first data sets.
• Smile will be launched this year.
• PLATO will be ready for launch by the end of the year (launch next year).
• Gaia has fulfilled its mission objectives, but data is still being released.
• BepiColombo and Solar Orbiter continue their work.

On the Exploration side:

• This week we had a press conference with Sophie Adenot, our astronaut who is the next to fly to the Space Station, not earlier than the 15th of February. We are doing this in cooperation with NASA.
• The European Service Module will power humanity back around the Moon as part of the Artemis II mission. The date is under NASA’s control, but it was published as Q1/Q2 of this year.

4. Strengthen European Autonomy and Resilience

• We will continue the ramp-up of Ariane 6 and Vega C.
• The first Ariane 64 flight (four boosters) is coming up soon. Arianespace will give a press conference next Monday with details.
• Space Rider: We are planning a full-scale drop test later this year.
• European Launcher Challenge: Oversubscribed at the ministerial (more than €900 million vs. €420 million proposed), showing strong commitment.
• LEO-PNT: Launch of the Celeste in-orbit demonstration satellite in Q1 2026. This builds the constellation to enhance European PNT resilience and accuracy.
• ERS Program (European Resilience from Space): Phase 2 of Element 1 is open for subscription until November 2026.

5. Boost European Growth and Competitiveness

• The EIB (European Investment Bank) announced a Space Tech EU lending facility of €500 million euros in Bremen.
• Economic impact: 260,000 job years and 28 billion euros of GDP impact created based on CM22 subscriptions.
• ESA BICs (Business Incubation Centers): Last year we celebrated the 2,000th startup incubated.
• Investor Network: 85 members. Between May 2024 and May 2026, members invested 1.23 billion in private funding into space companies, a 50% increase compared to the previous year.

6. Inspire Europe

• Reinforced international partnerships (Canada subscribed four times as much as previously).
• Education: Engaged 145,000 students and 154,000 teachers in 2025.
• Open Days: 20,000 visitors across ESA centers, including the first opening of ESA Headquarters in Paris.

Budget 2026 The budget for this year is €8.26 billion euros.

• €5.56 billion (64.2%) from ESA Member States.
• 23.4% from the European Union (Copernicus, Galileo, Iris², etc.).
• 3.1% from other income (e.g., PECS members).
• ~8% from Third Party programs (IRIDE, Greek Constellation).
• 1.4% from EUMETSAT.

ESA Transformation We have reduced “Time to Contract” by 50% compared to 2022. We reduced “Time to Hire” by 40% (expecting 400 new colleagues this year). We are simplifying internal organization and reducing bureaucracy in interactions with Member States and industry while maintaining quality and accountability.

2026 Milestones Summary

• Q1: Sophie Adenot launch (Expedition), Artemis II (ESM), Themis hop test (Kiruna), Ariane 64 first flight, Celeste (LEO-PNT), Space Rider drop test.
• Q2: Greek small sat launch, Flyeye telescope installation, End of Astronaut Reserve training, Smile launch (Vega C), Cyprus becomes Associate Member, M7 selection, ARRAKIHS adoption.
• Q3: MTG-I2 launch (Ariane 6), Cluster 3/4 reentry, Juice Earth flyby (Sept 12), Sentinel-3C, FLEX, MetOp-SG launches.
• Q4: Hera arrives at Dimorphos/Didymos, BepiColombo arrives at Mercury, Galileo L15 launch, Euclid cosmology data release, Gaia data release, PLATO ready for launch.

Conclusion This year we plan up to 65 new satellites and missions to be launched, compared to 46 last year. This is an absolute record. Thank you for your reporting. I hand back to Ansuya for questions.

Media questions and answers

Ansuya Bodell: Thank you very much, Josef. We’re now ready to take your questions.

Nicolas (France Télévisions): About Space Rider. Have you a date for the first test in scale one? Last year we talked about this year. Where are we?

Josef Aschbacher: I hand over this question to Toni Tolker-Nielsen from the Launchers Directorate.

Toni Tolker-Nielsen: Thank you. I don’t have the answer right now. Can I come back to you with the timeframe? [Later in the press conference, Toni updates the answer]

Ansuya Bodell: A question regarding Themis. You said it was due in the first quarter of this year. It was announced for the end of last year. Are we optimistic to see the first launch of Themis in Sweden?

Toni Tolker-Nielsen: Yes. Now it’s in Kiruna and it’s under snow today. So we are waiting for spring to make the test.

Ansuya Bodell: I will ask some questions from online. Torsten Kriening from SpaceWatch Global asks about the cadence of Ariane 6.

Toni Tolker-Nielsen: It is normally Arianespace who talks about the manifest. But last year we did four, and we have the intention to roughly double that number. We should attain our cruising level of 9 to 10 launches per year in 2027.

Katja (German Public Radio): As there have been serious cuts in the NASA budget by the Trump administration, does that affect your cooperation with NASA? Are projects like Mars Sample Return in danger?

Josef Aschbacher: The cooperation with NASA is good. We work on a daily basis on the ISS, Earth Observation, Science, and Exploration. You are right that budget proposals have an impact. However, just before the ministerial in Bremen, I received a letter from NASA confirming its key contributions to Rosalind Franklin. This is prepared for launch in 2028. On Mars Sample Return, we understand that according to today’s plans, the mission will not go ahead. We are evaluating the ESA portion. I hand over to Daniel.

Daniel Neuenschwander: On the ISS, work is ongoing (Crew 12 announced). A challenge until the end of the ISS exploitation is full utilization, and we are prioritizing experiments. On Artemis, there is a reformulation undergoing in the US, but there is a strong commitment from all partners. The Artemis II mission with the European Service Module is a good example; Europe is delivering. On Mars Sample Return, it is currently not planned to be continued. Europe cannot afford a full Mars Sample Return mission alone. We are reorienting our contributions—specifically the Earth Return Orbiter—towards a Mars atmospheric mission. This is being discussed with Member States. Our key priority is Rosalind Franklin in 2028.

Josef Aschbacher: Rosalind Franklin will be the first mission to drill 2 meters into the Mars surface to search for traces of life. NASA has the MOMA instrument on board.

Ansuya Bodell: Questions regarding astronauts. Jake Keegan (NASA Spaceflight) asks if the DG has met Jared Isaacman (new NASA Administrator). Questions from Marta Melišová (TG24) and Wim De Maeseneer (VRT NWS): Sophie Adenot will be the 22nd European astronaut to fly. What are your wishes? When will Artemis astronauts be announced?

Josef Aschbacher:

• On Jared Isaacman: I have not met him yet; he was inaugurated just before Christmas. My team is arranging the first meeting.
• On Sophie Adenot: I wish her success. The focus is to advance science and technology.
• On Artemis Astronauts: The flight dates are under NASA control. As announced in Bremen, we have three allocations for astronauts to the Gateway. I have decided to give these to ESA astronauts of German, French, and Italian nationality. The first will be of German nationality.

Gaël (Space / French Media): On December 29, ESA canceled the call for commercial cargo to the ISS. Why? And what are the plans for the LEO Cargo Return Service?

Daniel Neuenschwander: The cancellation is actually good news. We issued the call to seek services to compensate for our utilization costs (CSOC). Meanwhile, we restored a new barter with NASA, decided at the ministerial. In this new scheme, the US accepts Europe delivering LEO Cargo Return Services as part of the deal. We will issue a new process based on this. Regarding LEO Cargo Return: We will initiate Phase 2 this year, aiming for a demonstration mission to the ISS. We aim to sign contracts with industry in autumn this year.

Ansuya Bodell: Questions on Smile from Leah Allred (Dutch Media) and Paul Marks. Is geopolitical tension affecting EU-China cooperation? How do we avoid conflicts with US regulations (ITAR)? And regarding data centers in space and solar wind.

Carole Mundell: The Smile mission, including Chinese involvement, has been assessed and approved by all export control authorities. ESA complies with all regulations and embargoes. The payload contains technology commensurate with US export controls. The spacecraft was provided by the Chinese, but the mission was put together at ESTEC in the Netherlands. The cooperation is purely scientific and peaceful. Regarding data centers: Space is a hostile environment. Smile has instruments (Soft X-ray imager, UV imager, Light Ion Analyzer, Magnetometer) that will give us unique measurements of the solar wind’s impact, which is relevant for protecting space assets.

Vincent (Le Figaro): With 48 Earth Observation satellites, what share is reserved for European launchers?

Josef Aschbacher: ESA satellites will be launched on European launchers. Some of the 48 are third-party missions, and their launch depends on the partners. We are in a strong position now with Ariane 6 and Vega C back, and the Launcher Challenge upcoming.

Daniel (Formos?): Can you confirm LEO-PNT (Celeste) will be launched by Electron (Rocket Lab)? Why an American rocket?

Toni Tolker-Nielsen: Yes, I confirm it is launched on Rocket Lab. The manifest for European launchers was completely full, and it was necessary to find an alternative for this specific timeline.

Julio Miravalls (El Mundo/Atalayar): Starlink is lowering satellites due to congestion. How do you face overpopulation in orbit?

Josef Aschbacher: We are very concerned. ESA is the first agency to implement a “Zero Debris” charter (over 180 signatories). What we bring to space, we bring back.

Journalist (Room): You have a budget of 8.26 billion, but only 5.56 billion for programs. Is the rest administration?

Josef Aschbacher: The 8.26 billion is the total income. 5.56 billion comes from Member States, 23.4% from the EU, etc. Regarding spending: On average, ESA internal costs (administration, operating centers like ESOC/ESTEC/Kourou, test facilities) are 15%. 85% is spent with industry.

Emma Gatti (SpaceNews): Fact checking: 65 missions includes third-party? Ariane 6 cadence for 2027? Update on reorienting Mars mission? ERS Phase 2 milestones? Launching on Falcon 9/Rocket Lab difficulties?

Josef Aschbacher: Yes, the 65 figure includes third-party missions (comparable to the 46 figure). The 9-10 launches/year target for 2027 refers to Ariane 6. ERS Phase 2 discussions kick off in February, with funding open until November 2026.

Daniel Neuenschwander: On Mars: We will set priorities for the Terra Nova program by end of February. The definition of the Mars atmospheric mission will follow.

Toni Tolker-Nielsen: Launching on foreign launchers motivates us to ramp up European capacity fast. We want to launch European missions on European launchers.

Jean-Baptiste (BFM Business): Update on Iris²?

Laurent Jaffart: There is a lot of energy. We closed the System Requirements Review last year. We are kicking off Rendezvous 1 with the SpaceRISE consortium tomorrow and Saturday (two days early).

Peter de Selding (Space Intel Report): 1. Dark Web breach in December—how bad was it? 2. Clarification on Iris² deadline (mid-Jan). 3. Is ESA involved in the SpainSat NG-2 anomaly?

Josef Aschbacher: On the breach: Member States were informed. It involved external servers outside the firewall. Eric Morel de Westgaver: Judicial authorities have initiated a criminal inquiry. ESA is cooperating fully. Massimo Mercati: ESA immediately triggered forensic analysis and mitigation. Laurent Jaffart: On Iris²: Kick-off is tomorrow. On SpainSat: We are aware of an anomaly and have made ourselves available, but no details to report yet.

G. Lombard (French Newspaper): How is the “50% reduced time to contract” calculated?

Josef Aschbacher: It is compared to a long-term average (e.g., last 10 years), not just COVID years. We are streamlining review cycles and documentation.

Theresa Pultarova (Space.com): Situation with EnVision? Concerns about NASA budget affecting the VenSAR instrument?

Carole Mundell: EnVision is an ESA-led mission with NASA collaboration. NASA’s budget request potentially impacted 19 missions; EnVision was one requiring mitigation. We are in constant contact. The launch is scheduled for 2031 (deadline 2033). JPL teams have just passed their PDR (Preliminary Design Review).

Nicolas (French TV): European Launcher Challenge: Which companies are best positioned? Space Rider dates?

Toni Tolker-Nielsen:

• Space Rider: Full-scale drop test end of March 2026. Launch readiness towards end of 2027.
• Launcher Challenge: We received 12 offers; 5 passed the evaluation. We believe they will achieve the first launch before 2027 and the increased capacity by 2028.

Jeff Foust (SpaceNews): UK subscription to Launcher Challenge?

Toni Tolker-Nielsen: We are in second-stage tendering. A large amount of UK subscription is in the “to be allocated” box. The UK must decide on allocation in the coming 2-3 months to place contracts.

Martin (Astroaventura): Help to ISRO for Gaganyaan G1?

Josef Aschbacher: Yes, we have cross-support agreements and are requested to provide support to the ISRO Gaganyaan program.

Magazine Exploration: Dates for Sophie Adenot and Raphaël Liégeois?

Daniel Neuenschwander: Sophie is flying on the Expedition mission (launching Feb 2026). Raphaël Liégeois has a defined slot no earlier than 2027, but certainly not later than CM28.

Ansuya Bodell: This concludes our press conference. Thank you.