By Stephanie Dwilson | 2025-09-24

With its first two launch service contract awards in August and an application process under way for a new round of contracts closing October 1, the European Space Agency's Flight Ticket Initiative is gaining momentum.

The Flight Ticket Initiative, a joint endeavor of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission, was created in 2023 to help European companies and institutions test new technologies in space.

The initiative funds European launch services selected on a competitive basis to demonstrate and qualify in-orbit technologies or sub-systems on "ready-to-fly" satellites, which have been fully tested and integrated with the launch vehicle.

By giving established and emerging launch service providers opportunities to demonstrate their technologies in space, it aims to strengthen Europe’s independent space access and pave the way for future missions.

Launch service contracts

The ESA, which represents 23 member states committed to advancing space technology and development, announced August 27 it had awarded its first two launch service contracts to European space companies Avio and Isar Aerospace.

Avio is contracted for three missions to fly as auxiliary passengers on the Vega-C rocket, which will launch from the European Spaceport (Guiana Space Center) in French Guiana.

These missions will test and demonstrate technologies that seek to reduce space debris, use advanced components from large satellites on small satellites, and provide more accurate data on air pollution and climate.

Spanish company Persei will test the use of a tether to deorbit satellites via a fuel-free system, while German Aerospace Center DLR will use its Pluto+ CubeSat to demonstrate a compact avionic system and test a flexible solar array.

French company Grasp will use a new instrument aboard an Earth observation satellite to provide more detailed data on greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

"Deploying advanced technologies into orbit is essential to sustaining the sector’s growth in an increasingly dynamic global landscape," Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo said.

Isar Aerospace has been awarded two missions on the Spectrum vehicle, focused on space debris cleanup and future space experiments. Both will launch from the Andøya Spaceport in Norway, starting in 2026.

French company Infinite Orbits and Dutch company Isispace are collaborating with Isar Aerospace to launch their missions through the Flight Ticket Initiative.

Infinite Orbits will demonstrate using a satellite to target a non-operational satellite for removal from orbit, while Dutch company Isispace will deploy and operate three CubeSats that will host multiple experiments in space.

The contract award and collaboration with Infinite Orbits and Isispace mark "a key step in strengthening Europe’s independent space access," Isar Aerospace co-founder and CEO Daniel Metzler said.

The move "sets the foundation for future institutional missions under other programs like the European Launcher Challenge," he said.

Cooperation accelerates innovation

The Flight Ticket Initiative is significant not only for the technologies involved -- hardware, services and satellite payloads -- but also as a demonstration of how international cooperation can accelerate innovation in space.

The initiative will use exclusively European Union (EU) manufactured launchers co-funded through the EU Horizon Europe and ESA Boost! programs, initially for in-orbit demonstration and validation (IOD/IOV) missions.

IOD/IOV is an EU program enabling new technologies to be tested in orbit by providing aggregation (ridesharing), launch services and operations. Aggregation allows multiple smaller payloads to launch on a single rocket.

"This initiative is an important milestone for EU Space and for the launcher ecosystem, including to enhance competition," the European Commission said in a statement.

"It also showcases the willingness of the European Commission and ESA to join forces ensuring autonomous and sustainable EU access to space by relying on both established and new space actors."

The initiative shows EU member states working together to strengthen Europe’s space capabilities and security, while also reducing time-to-market for both commercial and scientific applications.

It is a sign of how space policy is evolving worldwide, with nations pooling resources to address problems of international concern, such as the growing challenge of space debris mitigation.