European Space Agency and European Commission Collaborate on Flight Ticket Initiative

Representatives of five companies selected by ESA and the European Commission (photo: twitter @ESA_transport)

JAKARTA – After opening registration for the Flight Ticket Initiative, the European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA) have finally selected five companies that will receive funding.

The five companies they chose were Arianespace, Isar Aerospace, Orbex Space, PLD Space, and Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA). All these companies will be supported to compete in the In-Orbit Demonstration and Validation (IOD/IOV) technology program.

While part of the IOD/IOV program, these five companies can test new technologies and compete for launch orders on certain missions. They will also be funded while participating in the program.

All selected companies will receive funding from the EU Horizon Europe and ESA Boost programs, receive guidance and development of skills and talents, and receive assistance in developing space technology solutions.

By launching the Flight Ticket Initiative, ESA Director of Space Transportation Toni Tolker-Nielsen said that this program provides benefits for many parties, both companies and governments.

“The aim is to create a win-win situation for European operators wishing to demonstrate or qualify technology or subsystems in orbit and stimulate the European small launcher sector through public funding,” said Tolker-Nielsen, quoted by Spacenews.

On the other hand, the European Commissioner for Internal Markets, Thierry Breton, wants to make a transformation in the European launch policy. Therefore, the European Commission collaborated with ESA in launching the Flight Ticket Initiative.

Over the past few years, several European governments have launched spacecraft. However, this launch still uses services from outside Europe. Seeing this, the European Commission is determined to support the launch in Europe.

They will collect launch requests from various European institutions, then submit those requests to the five companies in the Airline Ticketing Initiative. By doing this, the European Commission and ESA can benefit many parties.