One merger to rule them all?
This week we've got new contracts announced, launch scrubs and more.
Welcome to Aerospace Insider 🚀
Hope you are off to a good week.
Today’s summary:
🚀 Aerospace News: new contracts, upcoming launches and more
💼 Top Space Jobs: soon to be moved to Find a Space Job
🔍 Deep Dive: is Airbus back at it?
Aerospace Weekly Roundup
Catch the latest European & global space industry highlights you don’t want to miss!
🚀 Pangea Aerospace secures €7.27M for aerospike engine development
Pangea Aerospace, part of a consortium, has received €7.27M from the Spanish government to develop its ARCOS aerospike engine. The funding is part of Spain's Space Technology Programme 2024, which aims to advance disruptive space technologies. The ARCOS engine is designed to produce 750 kN of thrust for medium and heavy launch vehicles, enabling improved performance and the re-entry and reuse of upper stages.
💰 ALTEC secures €61M contract for ESA space station support
ALTEC has been awarded a €61 million contract by ESA to provide training, logistics and operations support for the ISS and the Gateway space station over the next five years. This contract extends ALTEC's ongoing support for the ISS Columbus program and includes preparations for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.
🚀 ESA completes key testing for Space Rider Service Module
ESA’s Space Rider vehicle has achieved a significant milestone with the successful completion of mechanical tests for the Service Module's ALEK element. The tests confirmed that the structure can endure launch conditions. The ALEK element will now be integrated with key flight systems in Italy. Meanwhile, ESA and Thales Alenia Space are preparing for a crucial drop test of the Re-entry Module later this year.
🤝 NASA and Roscosmos extend seat barter agreement to 2027
NASA and Roscosmos have extended their seat barter agreement for flights to the ISS until 2027. This agreement ensures that NASA astronauts fly on Soyuz spacecraft and Roscosmos cosmonauts fly on commercial crew vehicles, maintaining a continuous presence of both American and Russian crew members on the ISS. The new agreement includes longer Soyuz missions, with astronauts spending eight months on the station starting with the Soyuz MS-27 mission.
🛰️ Amazon delays Kuiper satellite launch due to weather
Amazon postponed the launch of its first Kuiper internet satellites due to bad weather conditions. The launch, planned for Cape Canaveral, was delayed because of cumulus clouds and heavy winds. Amazon aims to compete with SpaceX's Starlink by offering high-speed internet through its satellite constellation, with commercial service expected later this year. The company must launch half of its constellation by July 2026 to meet FCC requirements.
🔍 What caught your eye this week? I (try to) cover the best stories but there’s always more happening. Reply and let me know what space news you found most interesting or what I should cover next! I read all replies.
Space Jobs Spotlight
Reminder: this jobs section will soon move into its own dedicated newsletter: Find a Space Job.
If you haven’t you can sign up here
Here are this week’s picks:
🚀 Internships
Market Analyst Intern — ispace
Working Student Propulsion Engineer — Isar Aerospace
💼 Space Jobs
Thermal Engineer — Orbex
Senior Space Systems Engineer — D-Orbit
Mechanical System Design Engineer — Airbus
General Loads Engineer — Latitude
Avionics Engineer — Isar Aerospace
Lead Mechanical Design Engineer — Orbex
🔥 Special Opportunities
Space Startup Competition — do you want to miss this? Register here.
MSc Space Engineering Scholarship — apply here.
💡 Looking for a new job? I do more than just share listings. I can help you stand out. But you’ll have to check Find a Space Job for more.
🛰️ Airbus, Thales, Leonardo... and one satellite merger to rule them all?
We talked about this a few months ago but it seems the topic is back on the table in Europe.
According to Reuters, the CEOs of Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo met with EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera to discuss a possible merger of their satellite businesses. The idea? Create a joint space venture to compete with (nice guess): Starlink.
And I’d argue that we should add Project Kuiper soon.
Now, this is still in the “very early” stages. That means that probably nothing will happen over the coming months (and probably not until next year either). But the potential merge promises to be huge for Europe… but really?
So let’s talk about it.
What’s the Plan?
The merger would consolidate the satellite divisions of these three aerospace giants: basically combining decades of space heritage under one roof. Airbus is already a manufacturing heavyweight. Thales Alenia Space and Leonardo bring strong capabilities in communications, defence and satellite systems.
If they pull it off, this new joint venture could become Europe’s undisputed satellite champion. The Airbus CEO even hinted at copying the MBDA model, the missile consortium that merged Europe’s separated efforts into one solid, functioning defence company.
Sounds promising. But here’s the catch.
Will this merger actually help?
A bigger company doesn't automatically mean a better one. And certainly not a faster one. And certainly not in Europe. The real question is whether this new venture can operate with startup-level execution or if it ends up as yet another slow-moving European compromise machine.
Because the problem isn’t just scale. It’s speed.
SpaceX isn't just launching satellites, it’s building terminals, ground infrastructure and launches Starlinks regularly. This is what Europe is trying to match.
A few questions to keep in mind:
Will they target enterprise/government markets or aim to compete directly with consumer offerings like Starlink?
Can they iterate fast enough in a landscape where new tech becomes old in 18 months?
Who will own the product vision?
Will this be a bold commercial play or a slow, bureaucratic one that’s only there to get all the European public funding available?
This could be a real turning point. Or not.
Europe definitely needs stronger satellite capabilities, and this merger could be the start of something impactful. But without clear ownership, strong leadership, and fast execution, there’s a real risk it becomes a headline… and little more.
I don’t know if this merger will eventually happen. There will surely be some players (the likes of OHB that will not like or support this merger) and some European countries will likely push back to protect their own national companies.
Exciting times ahead!
Thanks for reading Aerospace Insider.
If you found this newsletter useful, feel free to share it with someone who might enjoy it.
And if you have any feedback or suggestions, just reply—I’d love to hear your thoughts.
You can also connect with me on LinkedIn here.
See you next week.
Jaime