Sizing up the 5 Companies Selected for Europe’s Launcher Challenge

Sizing up the 5 companies selected for Europe’s launcher challenge

Europe takes another step toward fostering competition in a stagnant launch market.

European Launcher Challenge: preselected challengers unveiled (ESA - European Space Agency)

) Back to Index Five Challengers have been preselected to move forward following the completion of the first stage of the ESA invitation to tender for the European Launcher Challenge. The five Challengers are: Now, the European Space Agency will consolidate the proposals for the ESA Council at ministerial level (CM25) happening in November 2025. What is the European Launcher Challenge? The European Launcher Challenge is part of ESA's preparation…

ESA Selects Finalists For European Launch Challenge

ESA selected the winners of the first stage of its European Launcher Challenge (ELC) yesterday. The companies chosen are: Germany’s Isar Aerospace and Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) France’s MaiaSpace Scotland’s Orbex Spain’s PLD Space Each launcher now stands the chance to win a maximum of €169M ($198.3M), following ESA’s November ministerial meeting in which the agency and its member states finalize their budgets for the next three years. The …

European Launcher Challenge: preselected challengers unveiled

ESA selects five companies for first stage of European Launcher Challenge - SatellitePro ME

The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced the five companies selected to move forward in the European Launcher Challenge, an initiative aimed at fostering independent European launch capabilities. The preselected companies are Germany’s Isar Aerospace and Rocket Factory Augsburg, Spain’s PLD Space, France’s MaiaSpace and the UK’s Orbex. The challenge, launched after ESA’s Council meeting in Seville in November 2023, officially opened for pro…