politico.eu
• Giorgio Leali
SpaceX and Blue Origin are among four companies backing out of a space summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, according to a French government official. The withdrawals follow reported pressure from the White House, adding a political dimension to a high-level commercial space gathering.
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SpaceX and Blue Origin are among four companies backing out of a space summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, according to a French government official. The withdrawals follow reported pressure from the White House, adding a political dimension to a high-level commercial space gathering.
Consolidation, shifting business models, sovereign space ambitions and a tougher investment environment are reshaping the global space sector. Industry leaders meeting in Paris are confronting increasingly interconnected pressures across commercial space, national capabilities and capital markets.
iMEDCAP completed a live demonstration of its autonomous medical evacuation system during NATO’s Vigorous Warrior 2026 exercise. The pilot showcased the system’s application to medical evacuation operations and its potential role in integrating autonomy into military healthcare and battlefield support missions.
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Archer Aviation and entertainment company AEG plan to develop downtown Los Angeles’ first vertiport at the 4 million-square-foot L.A. LIVE complex. The facility would add a central node to Archer’s proposed eVTOL air-taxi network ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The European Defence Tech Hub Festival in Neuhardenberg spotlighted the continent’s struggle to move promising defense prototypes into operational use. The Bundeswehr Cyber Innovation Hub received a mandate to scale, underscoring growing pressure to accelerate procurement and translate experimentation into deployable capability.
Eve Air Mobility Chief Commercial Officer Megha Bhatia used the 2026 Farnborough Air Show to provide an update on the company’s eVTOL program, highlighting a reported $14 billion backlog and new commercial commitments as it advances toward commercial deployment.
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Airbus delivered 418 commercial aircraft through July 2026, maintaining its global lead over Boeing, while Boeing recorded 38 gross orders during a slower month focused on recovery and production stability. The July period also brought certification, flight-testing, partnership and infrastructure progress, alongside major Farnborough deals.
COSPAR has re-elected Dr. Pascale Ehrenfreund as president following its 2026 assembly in Florence, which drew approximately 3,000 attendees. The event covered a broad range of space research and operations, from planetary science to human spaceflight, underscoring the organization’s role as a convening forum for the sector.
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