The European Space Agency (ESA) is forging ahead with plans to maintain a human presence in low Earth orbit after the International Space Station’s (ISS) retirement. A significant step in this direction was the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Thales Alenia Space and Blue Origin. This agreement focuses on studying the potential use of Blue Origin’s proposed Orbital Reef commercial space station for European payloads and astronauts.
The collaboration will also investigate contributions of European hardware to Orbital Reef, ranging from subsystems to modules. Furthermore, it explores utilizing future European spacecraft for transporting cargo and crews to and from the station. “By leveraging our expertise in space exploration infrastructures and vehicles, we’re committed to competing and investing in the development of technological solutions to empower Europe’s plans for the commercialization of low Earth orbit,” stated Giampiero Di Paolo, deputy chief executive of Thales Alenia Space.
This initiative builds on ESA’s broader strategy to utilize commercial low Earth orbit destinations (CLDs) post-ISS. Last year, a similar agreement was signed with Vast, another company developing commercial space stations. “We would really like to be able to continue to perform science and technology development in low Earth orbit,” explained Andreas Mogensen, an ESA astronaut. “We are really exploring the possibilities of how we can cooperate, not just as a user and a paying customer, but also as a partner with many of these commercial entities.”
ESA’s commitment to CLDs is further demonstrated through private astronaut missions to the ISS. The agency’s approach has seen reserve astronauts like Marcus Wandt and Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski participate in Axiom Space missions, focusing entirely on science. “It really gives us a huge boost in our utilization of the space station,” noted Wandt.
ESA aims for continuous presence and use of low Earth orbit. Daniel Neuenschwander, director of human and robotic exploration at ESA, highlighted CLDs as key platforms to achieve this, emphasizing the need for multi-flight agreements. The agency is also evaluating how to optimize scientific research on future stations, seeking to tailor experiments to specific platforms.
While acknowledging the extensive research capabilities of the ISS, Angelique Van Ombergen, ESA’s chief exploration scientist, notes the opportunity for improved optimization on CLDs. Neuenschwander stressed the preference for collaborations where European companies play a significant role, aiming for a "strong European industry presence" in these stations.