“A strong signal from Bremen for the future of European space exploration! We are pleased that the ESA Ministerial Council meeting held in Bremen has approved a total budget of 22.1 billion euros for the next three years. This represents a further increase and matches the amount requested by the ESA Director General.”
With a contribution of over 5 billion euros, Germany reaffirms its leading role in Europe and is once again the largest contributor. Federal Minister Dorothee Bär thus underscores Germany’s leading role in space exploration.
A key priority is ensuring Europe’s independent access to space: With over 4 billion euros allocated to launchers and space transportation, Europe is securing the continued development of launch systems and strengthening its competitiveness in the global market. With companies like MT Aerospace and The Rocket Factory, we are well-positioned in this area. Above all, the strong response to the European Launcher Challenge sends a powerful signal to the launcher market in Europe.
In addition, Europe is investing over 3 billion euros in exploration projects. This clearly demonstrates that, alongside the United States and China, it is playing a leading role in space exploration and the geostrategic use of space.
Overall, defense-related issues are coming into focus. Germany’s recently adopted space security strategy and the ESA’s initiatives on resilience and security underscore the importance of protecting our infrastructure and ensuring Europe’s technological sovereignty.
“In addition, with its planned Earth observation missions, ESA will further expand Europe’s leading role in Earth observation. And investments in the expansion of navigation programs will also significantly improve the precision and resilience of navigation signals.
These are extremely exciting times for space exploration. We at OHB are ready to actively shape this future and play a decisive role in it.”