Next Stage to Space

The European Space sector is transforming quickly to allow a more and more competitive access to Earth orbits and beyond, serving advanced science, exploration and commercial applications to bring the benefits of Space to our society.

To further increase the return of investment in Space, the European Space Agency, together with its Member States, supports entrepreneurs with the ambition to exploit space technology or utilise space systems in non-space markets (spin-off), or become suppliers to the space sector, e.g. by exploiting non-space technology in the space market (spin-in).

The objective of ESA Future Space Transportation is to accompany the bloom of a competitive and robust SpaceTech sector to build a European end-to-end space transportation ecosystem. In this frame, the Future Launchers Preparatory Programme is developing a portfolio of selected demonstrators and technologies to ensure short Time-to-Market of price competitive innovations for end-to-end space transportation.

Unfolding such vision requires an inclusive and collaborative approach, joining European industrial forces and benefiting from the strengths of established large-space integrators and innovative new actors alike.

The overarching objective of the “Next Stage to Space” initiative is to facilitate the SpaceTech ecosystem in Europe by providing a platform where future space transportation needs meet promising innovative solutions. With “Next Stage to Space”, entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs can pitch their value propositions to meet the promising fields of innovations identified by Large Space System Integrators. The idea is to foster matchmaking between needs and solutions and to allow integration of relevant propositions into real space transportation applications.

This first “Next Stage to Space” platform is initiated by the European Space Agency and implemented with the support of AZO, in partnership with ArianeGroup GmbH and MT-Aerospace GmbH.