Europe just did something it has long resisted: it placed institutional launch orders with a privately funded startup. Under the European Space Agency’s (ESA) new Flight Ticket Initiative, ESA and the European Commission have awarded two missions to Germany’s Isar Aerospace and three to Italy’s Avio—the first time European institutions have bought launch services from a venture-backed provider on the continent. It’s a small procurement on paper; strategically, it’s a pivot.
What was actually awarded—and to whom
ESA’s announcement confirms five initial “Flight Ticket” missions: three rideshares on Vega-C managed by Avio out of Kourou,
