Space Policy & International Cooperation News

Ars Technica • Eric Berger

Unsecured 20‑ton service platform discovered ahead of Soyuz launch

An unsecured 20‑ton service platform was found at the launch complex shortly before a Soyuz crew launch, prompting immediate safety and oversight questions about Russia's crewed-launch operations and potential impacts to International Space Station access. Officials signalled increased scrutiny of launch‑site procedures.

2025-11-28T08:45:43.278733-08:00

Space Intel Report

ESA secures record €22.1bn at Bremen ministerial, delivering 99% of proposed €22.25bn

2025-11-27T03:42:31.985160-08:00

SpaceNews.com

ESA secures record €22bn ministerial package, but exploration programmes face funding shortfalls

2025-11-27T12:22:30.681208-08:00

Space.com

Soyuz MS-28 launches from Baikonur with NASA's Chris Williams and two Russian cosmonauts for eight-month ISS mission

2025-11-27T01:42:52.684380-08:00

Space Policy & International Cooperation News Timeline

European Spaceflight

€900M+ committed to ESA’s European Launcher Challenge, led by Germany, France, UK and Spain More than €900 million has been committed to ESA’s European Launcher Challenge, with Germany, France, the UK and Spain providing the bulk of the funding. The investment is intended to accelerate development, testing and industrialisation of European small- and medium‑class launchers to strengthen sovereign launch capacity.

2025-11-29T20:05:09.797683-08:00

€900M+ committed to ESA’s European Launcher Challenge, led by Germany, France, UK and Spain

europeanconservative.com

Think tank warns Europe must act now to secure space-based data centre industry A European think tank warns that without a coordinated strategy Europe risks ceding the emerging space-based data centre market—a core element of future digital infrastructure—to foreign competitors. The report calls for urgent policy, industrial and investment measures to build sovereign on‑orbit data and processing capacity.

2025-11-29T16:22:07.360931-08:00

Think tank warns Europe must act now to secure space-based data centre industry

Ars Technica

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Unsecured 20‑ton service platform discovered ahead of Soyuz launch An unsecured 20‑ton service platform was found at the launch complex shortly before a Soyuz crew launch, prompting immediate safety and oversight questions about Russia's crewed-launch operations and potential impacts to International Space Station access. Officials signalled increased scrutiny of launch‑site procedures.

2025-11-28T08:45:43.278733-08:00

Unsecured 20‑ton service platform discovered ahead of Soyuz launch

eu-startups.com

EIB launches c500M Space TechEU to finance European space startups The European Investment Bank has launched Space TechEU, a c500 million financing initiative to support European space startups, marking a significant public-sector investment aimed at scaling early-stage companies across the continent. The move signals the EIB's expanded role in backing commercial space innovation.

2025-11-28T07:30:07.187878-08:00

EIB launches c500M Space TechEU to finance European space startups

Space Intel Report

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Germany Eyes Rival to EU’s Iris2 as It Pledges Major ESA Funding at Ministerial At the ESA ministerial in Bremen, Germany signalled plans to back a potential national rival to the European Commission’s Iris2 multi-orbit secure connectivity programme and pledged significant funding to ESA, reflecting Berlin’s impatience with current EU approaches to sovereign communications and defence capabilities.

2025-11-28T06:53:50.165527-08:00

Germany Eyes Rival to EU’s Iris2 as It Pledges Major ESA Funding at Ministerial

European Spaceflight

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ESA backs two ISS cargo-return demos and signs on as anchor customer for commercial LEO return service The European Space Agency will fund two demonstration missions to return cargo from the International Space Station and has agreed to be an anchor customer for a future commercial low‑Earth‑orbit cargo‑return service, providing institutional demand to validate commercial payload‑return capabilities from LEO.

2025-11-28T06:23:59.224213-08:00

ESA backs two ISS cargo-return demos and signs on as anchor customer for commercial LEO return service

air-cosmos.com

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ArianeGroup completes maiden flight of SyLEx suborbital test rocket for France's DGA ArianeGroup conducted the first flight of SyLEx, a sovereign sounding rocket developed for France's DGA since 2021, from the Biscarrosse missile test range. The suborbital vehicle establishes a national test capability for civil applications, including high-speed and supersonic experiments and rapid flight qualification of instruments.

2025-11-28T03:10:08.354146-08:00

ArianeGroup completes maiden flight of SyLEx suborbital test rocket for France's DGA

Soyuz MS-28 damages Baikonur crewed‑launch pad, threatens Russia's ISS launch cadence A Soyuz MS-28 launch on Nov. 27, 2025 damaged the Baikonur crewed‑launch pad; footage shows the service gantry falling into an exhaust trench. The damage to Russia's sole operational site for Soyuz and Progress missions jeopardizes upcoming ISS crew rotations and cargo launch cadence.

2025-11-27T15:47:43.154752-08:00

Soyuz MS-28 damages Baikonur crewed‑launch pad, threatens Russia's ISS launch cadence

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