The European Space Agency’s programme for future space transportation, FLPP, brought together 230 onsite participants from 23 European countries in Paris for its Spring Session on 9 March, with more than 250 additional participants following online. The largest gathering in the programme’s history, with interest exceeding available places, the session offered a clear view of a European space transportation community already engineering the capabilities it will depend on in the coming decades.
Opening the day, STS Senior Advisor Jérôme Breteau noted the trust Member States place in ESA. “Space is now clearly recognised as a strategic domain,” he said. “Programmes like FLPP are essential to transform political ambition into programmes, and programmes into technology.”
Head of FLPP Pier Domenico Resta reinforced the role of FLPP: “Our role is to implement industry’s many great ideas in the best possible way,” he said, expressing confidence that the programme is on track to deliver these capabilities.
Throughout the session, exchanges between industry, ESA and Member State representatives reflected a changing operational context for space transportation. Reusable launch systems, in-orbit mobility and logistics capabilities are increasingly treated as strategic infrastructure, supporting both civil and defence needs. Servicing spacecraft, refuelling assets in orbit and sustaining operations over time are becoming central to Europe’s autonomy and resilience in space.
FLPP is already operating within this reality, enabling the alignment of technology development with the emerging operational requirements of both institutional and commercial users.
A Widening Industrial and Institutional Circle
Discussions also illustrated how the European SpaceTech community continues to expand. Hungary and Luxembourg, two of the four newest members, presented their national objectives and stakeholders during the event. They join Greece and the United Kingdom as the newest members of the FLPP network, bringing the total to 18 countries participating in the programme.
“FLPP has opened the door to exploration and in-space activities beyond traditional satellite communication,” said Bob Lamboray, Senior Manager Lead for Exploration & Space Resources at the Luxembourg Space Agency. He added that the motivation for joining FLPP was to “develop and diversify the national space industry. We believe that commercial utilisation of space transportation technologies is a key element in growing an industry and enabling companies to succeed in the long term.”
Industry perspectives shared during the defence-focused panel reinforced this. Victoria Carter-Cortez, Business Development Manager at in-orbit servicing company AstroScale, said, “The joint perspective of industry and institutions is essential if we want to move forward. Dual-use technologies bring diversified revenue streams, but they also create opportunities to grow core capabilities.”
The panel brought together representatives from Member State delegations and industry to discuss the economic and strategic benefits of dual-use technologies. The discussions confirmed the importance of the topic, while work towards aligning priorities across the community continues.
“Many of the fundamental building blocks are the same regardless of whether applications are civilian or defence-related,” she continued. “What matters is the evolving operational mindset and the continuous dialogue that allows industry to mature technologies to higher readiness levels.”
Colonel Marcin Mazur, Vice President at POLSA, the Polish Space Agency, stressed that “it’s important to be prepared … the key is to invest in capabilities that could be used for both civilian and defence purposes,” and the usage of those capabilities are decided by the end user.
Technologies Advancing through Industrial Delivery
Project presentations across the programme demonstrated how FLPP is translating into technological progress. Updates shared throughout the day showed development work advancing across propulsion systems, composite structures, avionics, autonomous operations and in-orbit logistics technologies.
Several companies described how concepts initially proposed through open calls are progressing with ESA’s support, highlighting how the FLPP team supported them in overcoming technical setbacks and refining designs, which has been integral to moving from promising prototypes towards validated commercially-attractive hardware and system demonstrations. The technologies supported by FLPP are now winning commercial contracts beyond Europe: at the event, Spanish company Arkadia Space announced a recent contract in the United States alongside existing European ones.
The session also recognised eight projects through the FIRST! Sustainability Awards, highlighting technologies contributing to more environmentally responsible space transportation and reflecting the increasing integration of sustainability into industrial development.
In-space Capabilities
The expansion into in-orbit transportation and logistics capabilities featured prominently throughout the event, including a dedicated panel on coordination between ESA and the European Commission on in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing (ISAM) and the EU’s ISOS initiative.
Tiago Soares, Head of ESA’s Clean Space and Circular Economy Office and Chair of the Agency’s ISAM working group, described the scale and opportunities in ISAM. “ISAM is truly transformational,” he said. “It is multi-actor, multi-purpose and multi-element. We are working together to define a European vision that will change how we think about sustainability in space, how value chains evolve and how assets already in orbit can be used in new ways.”
Panel discussions showed how launch capabilities are now complemented by sustained in-orbit mobility and servicing architectures. Dual-use considerations and ISAM development pathways are key to supporting technology priorities and industrial participation.
Technologies under development through FLPP’s In-Space Proof-of-Concept (InSPoC) activities – including rendezvous and docking systems, cryogenic refilling solutions, autonomous operations and containerised cargo concepts – form part of this emerging area.
A Programme in Motion across Europe
By the close of the session, the scale of FLPP activity across Europe’s SpaceTech community was unmistakable. Participation continues to grow, technologies are advancing across multiple domains, and industrial collaboration is increasingly focused on autonomy, resilience, and sustained activity in orbit.
Described by Kate Underhill, THRUST! Project Manager, as “the place to be for future space transportation in Europe”, the FLPP community will next gather in Paris on 14 October.
