ESA at Le Bourget 2025 – Day Three Highlights

The Commissioner was greeted by Director General Josef Aschbacher at the ESA exhibition, which then hosted a live call with ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski. Sławosz explained his upcoming Ignis mission. Following a tour of the Paris Space Hub, Commissioner Kubilius and the ESA Director General hosted a press briefing where their brief statements were followed by a question and answer session. Replay the press conference here, or read a transcript of the speakers’ comments.Commissioner Kubilius also offered his congratulations to ESA as it celebrates 50 years of its Convention and of international cooperation for space.  

International cooperation was also to the fore as ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration Daniel Neuenschwander and CNES Executive Vice President Lionel Suchet signed a renewal of the integrated team agreement. The agreement allows for teams to work together on the preparation and delivery of human spaceflight missions, as well as on technology development in related activities on the ground.  

Also in human spaceflight, ESA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), and Blue Origin to foster and facilitate commercial and industrial advancements in the area of space exploration in low Earth orbit. The signatories will explore opportunities for European payloads and/or crew members to use the Orbital Reef space station in low Earth orbit on a non-exclusive basis. Find the full details in the press release. 

ESA announced an agreement with Hispasat for the development of the initial phase of Q-Design, the first project worldwide to integrate quantum key distribution (QKD) through geostationary and low orbit satellites and terrestrial infrastructure. The project will enable the design of QKD services in which users can securely transmit their messages through any of these channels. The first phase will be dedicated to performing a feasibility study for the service segment and ground segment components needed to provide QKD services using multiple orbits, in close collaboration with end users/customers and evaluate the integration with QKD ground networks.

ESA’s role in modernising air traffic management was highlighted in a panel led by Christophe Allemand, ESA Head of Space Systems for Safety and Security. The panel explained how ESA works with the European air traffic management community for example with Eurocontrol, the air traffic management modernisation project SESAR Deployment management and with SESAR Joint Undertaking. More efficient air traffic management promises not only to bolster safety but to reduce congestion that can cause flight delays and increased emissions through longer flights. Read more about how Iris Global and Eurialo can help aviation in Europe. 

Finally, John McFall related how he became the first person with physical disability to join ESA’s astronaut reserve (as well as being a paralympian and a trauma surgeon).John’s expertise helps develop innovative solutions for people with physical disabilities facing space-related challenges, such as microgravity adaptation, fitness and technology integration. Earlier this year, John received medical clearance for long-duration missions to the ISS. Find out more about the Fly! project here.

See the events from Day One and Day Two.