cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/8685552

“I’m asking for a small but very impactful step, the first step that enables a much bigger ambition,” Josef Aschbacher, ESA director general, said in remarks at the opening of the ESA Council meeting there. “I propose a competition between innovative European companies to deliver a space cargo return service to transport cargo to the International Space Station by 2028 and bring it back to Earth.”

Details about the competition have yet to be worked out. Aschbacher said at a media briefing after the ESA Council meeting that he will establish a small “tiger team” withing the agency to start the program. He envisioned a first phase where ESA provided study contracts to two or three companies in the near term with a total value of 75 million euros ($80 million), using existing funding.

It’s unclear what level of interest the ESA competition will attract, but some European companies have already announced plans for cargo spacecraft. The Exploration Company, which raised 40.5 million euros in a Series A round in February, is working on a series of capsules, with a goal of sending one to the ISS as soon as 2027. Rocket Factory Augsburg, a company working on a small launch vehicle, announced in September it is partnering with Atmos Space Cargo and OHB on a cargo vehicle.

In the US, Dragon and Cygnus are working well, Dream Chaser is looking promising, and Starliner is… well, Boeing. I’m eager to see what European companies can come up with.