Open Cosmos Launches First Telecom Sats
The launch marks Open Cosmos’ entrance into the world of satcom.
Europe
Stories on the European space industry
ESA Pours €73M into SWISSto12’s HummingSat Program
Surprise, surprise: SWISSto12 plans to use the new funds to increase its production capacity.
D-Orbit Raises $53M to Fund Acquisition Efforts
D-Orbit is about to go on a shopping spree.
Loft Orbital Wins €50M Contract to Build French SAR Sat
The demo is part of France’s DESIR program, which is intended to widen the pool of EO capabilities available to the French defense sector.
Sweden’s Space Spending Aims to Boost NATO Capabilities
The Swedish Armed Forces allocated 1.3B Swedish Kronor (€121.4M) to purchase 10 surveillance satellites, split between Planet and ICEYE.
ESA Calls for EO Companies to Join the Insurance Game
EO and analytics companies stand to benefit from ESA support and funding in helping to bring an insurance solution to the market.
Exclusive: Orbital Paradigm Emerges as the Lone Survivor of Failed PSLV Launch
Despite ISRO’s PSLV failing during launch, Orbital Paradigm’s KID reentry vehicle survived long enough to transmit valuable data.
ESA Outlines a Busy Year Ahead
In a press conference at ESA HQ in Paris, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher laid out the agency’s plan for 2026.
Op-Ed: Space Trends to Watch in 2026
2026 has a chance to become an inflection point where commercial expansion, AI integration, and sovereign partnerships could collide to redefine what the next decade of space looks like.
Top 5 of 2025: Europe
This year, Europe took major steps to break out on its own in space, including investing in sovereign tech, forging new relationships, and gaining an appreciation for dual-use hardware.
2025 Europe in Review
We built a word cloud based on the 100+ stories Payload ran on the European space industry this year, and one theme jumped out immediately: a lot of forward-looking language.
ICEYE, Rheinmetall Land €1.7B German Defense Contract
The joint venture owned by Finnish EO firm ICEYE and German arms maker Rheinmetall has turned on its money-printing machine.