International Space Summit
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| Date | September 9–10, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Grand Palais, Paris, France |
| Organized by | Government of France |
The International Space Summit was a summit held 9 to 10 September 2026, at the Grand Palais in Paris, focused on shared challenges facing the space sector.[1] The summit was convened by French president Emmanuel Macron, and hosted delegations from 120 countries and a speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.[1][2]
White House pressure on US space companies
[edit]The European Union (EU) and its constituents countries has increased investment in the space sector.[3] On 25 June 2025, the European Commission proposed the EU Space Act, an initiative to harmonize legal frameworks for space activities across EU member states.[3] The Act is opposed by the United States government, which believes it will target American companies by imposing EU rules on them.[3] A joint French-German initiative to allocate more satellite radio frequencies to European companies, including the EU's IRIS² satellite network, has been viewed as detrimental to Starlink.[3]
On 27 August 2026, the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy hosted a call with several American space companies planning to attend the summit, and said their attendance could signal support for European space policies opposed by the United States.[4] Subsequently on 3 September 2026, American space companies Stoke Space, Starcloud, Blue Origin, and SpaceX cancelled their planned appearances at the summit, according to a spokesperson for the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research.[5][6] The spokesperson said, "It's hard not to link it to the rumours of pressure," adding, "We obviously want to continue working with our US partners and allies, even though strategic about-turns and political pressures sometimes make the task needlessly complex."[6]
Results
[edit]
Various contracts and agreements worth billions of Euros (€) combined were signed or announced at the event.[7][8][9]
Crew and cargo
[edit]- ESA awarded a €760 million LEO Cargo Return Service phase 2 contract to The Exploration Company for up to three space station cargo flights of the Nyx spacecraft.[10][11] The company also signed a contract with Arianespace to launch the first Nyx flight on Ariane 6.[12][13] That flight was expected no later than 2029.[10]
- ESA signed an agreement with Vast to fly the first Greek astronaut, Adrianos Golemis, to space on the company's PAM-6 flight to ISS, together with previously announced French and Czech ESA astronauts.[14][15][16]
- ESA signed agreements with Axiom Space[17] and Starlab,[18] reiterating the agency's interest in using the companies' planned commercial space stations.[19]
- French president Emmanuel Macron announced around €20 billion in investments for European space industry. He confirmed the French government's support for the development of Dassault's multipurpose spaceplane VORTEX, extending it from the sub-scale demonstrator VORTEX-D also to the operational orbital version VORTEX-S.[20][21] He also called for developing European crewed spaceflight capability within a decade.[22]
- Venturi Space unveiled the Alta Luna single-person lunar rover for local operations around future lunar bases.[23][24]
Satellites and launches
[edit]
- Thales Alenia Space, Aerospacelab, and Airbus Defence and Space were awarded contracts, expected to total more than €5.4 billion, to build 330 LEO satellites for the EU's secure communications satellite constellation IRIS².[25]
- Eutelsat agreed to buy another 229 low-Earth orbit satellites from Airbus Defence and Space to expand its OneWeb constellation for satellite internet services. Eutelsat also booked two Ariane 64 flights in 2027 and 2028 to launch OneWeb satellites.[26][27]
- Amazon LEO booked another six Ariane 64 flights to launch its internet satellites.[28]
- AscendArc selected Arianespace to launch the Korean communications satellite Koreasat 9 on an Ariane 6 rideshare mission to GTO in 2028.[29][30]
- Firefly Aerospace announced an agreement with SSC Space to launch its Firefly Alpha orbital rockets from Esrange Space Center in Sweden.[31][32][33]
- MaiaSpace signed an agreement with the Japanese company iQPS for multiple launches of their synthetic aperture radar satellites on the reusable Maia rocket starting in 2029.[34][35][36]
- According to Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo, multiple launch customers, recently turned away by SpaceX, used the event to lobby European institutions for financial support for launching their payloads on European rockets.[37]
See also
[edit]- European Space Agency – European organisation dedicated to space exploration
- Terrae Novae – European Space Agency programme for human spaceflight and robotic space exploration
- European Launcher Challenge – Space launch vehicle development programme of the European Space Agency
- LEO Cargo Return Service – Space cargo vehicle development programme of the European Space Agency
- European Union Agency for the Space Programme – Agency of the European Union
- Space policy of the second Trump administration
References
[edit]- 1 2 "White House pressures US space firms to skip Paris space summit, sources say". Reuters.
- ↑ "Von der Leyen set to deliver major speech on Europe's space policy". POLITICO. 2026-08-31. Retrieved 2026-09-04.
- 1 2 3 4 "France downplays SpaceX, Blue Origin snub of 'worst Macron-organized' summit". POLITICO. 2026-09-04. Retrieved 2026-09-04.
- ↑ "White House pushes companies to ditch Macron's space summit". POLITICO. Retrieved 2026-09-04.
- ↑ "SpaceX, Blue Origin ditch Macron's space summit after White House pressure". POLITICO. 2026-09-03. Retrieved 2026-09-04.
- 1 2 "French government says SpaceX and Blue Origin pull out of Paris space summit". Le Monde (in French). 2026-09-03. ISSN 1950-6244. Retrieved 2026-09-04.
- ↑ Gorman, Douglas (2026-09-11). "International Space Summit Highlights the Strength of Europe's Space Ecosystem". Payload. Archived from the original on 2026-09-11. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ "Avion spatial Vortex, constellation Iris2, The Exploration Company, Ariane 6… Ce qu'il faut retenir du sommet international sur le spatial". L'Usine Nouvelle. 10 September 2026. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
- ↑ "Sommet de l'Espace à Paris : des investissements, un premier astronaute grec et une Europe qui veut changer d'échelle". Rêves d'Espace (in French). 2026-09-15. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- 1 2 Parsonson, Andrew (2026-09-10). "ESA Awards The Exploration Company a €760M Space Station Cargo Contract". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 2026-09-10.
- ↑ "ESA signs service contract with The Exploration Company for its Nyx vehicle under 'ALADDIN', the European autonomous cargo capsule project". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2026-09-10.
- ↑ Parsonson, Andrew (2026-09-10). "The Exploration Company Books Ariane 6 Flight for Nyx Demo Mission". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 2026-09-10.
- ↑ Poisson, Juliette (2026-09-10). "Arianespace signs agreement with The Exploration Company to launch Nyx capsule with Ariane 6". Newsroom Arianespace. Retrieved 2026-09-10.
- ↑ "ESA signs an Agreement with Vast on behalf of Greece". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ "PM introduces Greece's first astronaut at space summit in Paris | eKathimerini.com". www.ekathimerini.com. 2026-09-10. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ Foust, Jeff (2026-09-10). "Greek astronaut to fly on Vast private mission to ISS". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ "ESA and Axiom Space strengthen cooperation for the post-ISS era". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ "ESA and Starlab sign a Letter of Intent related to the post-ISS era". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ Aeroespacial, Actualidad (2026-09-14). "La ESA abre nuevas vías de cooperación con Starlab y Axiom Space para la era posterior a la ISS". Actualidad Aeroespacial (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ "France Expands Backing For Dassault Spaceplane Effort | Aviation Week". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ "D'autres pays européens pourraient suivre : la France réaffirme son soutien au Vortex, l'avion spatial de Dassault Aviation et de l'allemand OHB". L'Usine Nouvelle. 10 September 2026.
- ↑ "Macron calls for 'shared governance' of space at Paris summit". France 24. 2026-09-10. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ "ALTA LUNA, Venturi Space's New Lunar Utility Vehicle - SPACE & DEFENSE". spaceanddefense.io. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ Admin (2026-09-09). "Introducing Alta Luna, Venturi Space's New Lunar Utility Vehicle". International Aerospace India. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ Parsonson, Andrew (2026-09-10). "Aerospacelab, Thales Alenia Space Secure €5.4 Billion in IRIS2 Contracts". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 2026-09-10.
- ↑ Menon, Jay (2026-09-11). "Europe invests €1 billion in OneWeb to secure satellite Independence". AGN. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ online, heise (2026-09-10). "Eutelsat: Europe's Starlink competitor is expanding". heise online. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ Faleti, Joshua (2026-09-10). "Amazon Leo Orders Six More Ariane 64 Launches From Arianespace". SpaceWatch.GLOBAL. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ "Arianespace to Launch KT SAT's Next High-Throughput Satellite". www.satnow.com. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ Poisson, Juliette (2026-09-10). "Arianespace to launch KT SAT's next high-throughput satellite, built by AscendArc, on Ariane 6". Newsroom Arianespace. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ "SSC Space and Firefly Aerospace Sign Contract for Two Alpha Launches from Esrange Space Center – SatNews". satnews.com. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ Berger, Eric (2026-09-11). "Rocket Report: Europe joins the commercial launch club; a Ravn X sighting?". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ "Firefly Aerospace Signs First American Rocket Contract for Continental European Orbit". Tech Times. 2026-09-09. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ Holmes, Mark (2026-09-10). "MaiaSpace Wins First Long-Term Asia Customer Deal". Via Satellite. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ "MaiaSpace Secures IQPS Launch Agreement | Aviation Week". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ "iQPS and MaiaSpace | MaiaSpace". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ Parsonson, Andrew (2026-09-16). "Avio CEO Reports Influx of Customers Turned Away by SpaceX". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 2026-09-16.