Credit: The Exploration Company
The European Space Agency has announced a call for tenders to conduct studies exploring the feasibility of a European-led, modular, multi-partner space station in low Earth orbit.
In January 2022, NASA announced its plans to decommission and deorbit the International Space Station (ISS) in the first quarter of 2031 as it transitions to Commercial LEO Destinations (CLDs). In response to the planned retirement of the ISS, ESA presented member states and key partners with three possible scenarios for its post-ISS strategy in the lead-up to its November 2025 Ministerial Council Meeting (CM25).
The first scenario would see no European investment in LEO infrastructure, with the agency fully relying on US CLDs. The second scenario, labelled the agency’s baseline, would involve limited investment and a hybrid use of CLDs alongside European elements.
Scenario three was the most ambitious of the three by some margin, with the agency proposing a European-led initiative to develop and deploy a space station in low Earth orbit. While the initiative would be European-led, it would include contributions from institutional or commercial partners.
On 27 February, ESA published an intended call for tenders for two Pre-Phase A studies under Scenario 3. According to the call, the studies will consolidate the “feasibility, architecture, utilisation, and technology requirements of a European-led LEO outpost” and propose cooperation with the Canadian Space Agency, Japan’s national space agency JAXA, and “additional partners.” The results of the two parallel studies will be used to enable ESA decision-making for its post-ISS transition by the end of 2026.
On preparation for the other two scenarios, ESA has signed memoranda of understanding with three separate CLD companies to explore potential utilisation. The first was signed with Axiom Space in October 2023 to collaborate on “post-ISS low-Earth orbit activities.” The second, signed in November 2023, was with Airbus and Voyager Space for the potential use of the companies’ future Starlab space station. Finally, in June 2024, the agency signed an agreement with Vast, which includes, among other elements, exploring potential access to Vast’s space stations for astronauts from ESA and its Member States.
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