ESA Director General Outlines €10 Billion Plan for Independent Crewed Spaceflight

European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher said Europe could develop the ability to launch its own astronauts with a budget of around €10 billion over the next ten years. He outlined the plan in an interview with Euronews, noting that only the United States, China and Russia currently possess independent crewed launch capability.

Europe currently depends on NASA for crew transport. Aschbacher pointed to the approaching retirement of existing US systems and the geopolitical constraints that make Russian and Chinese options unavailable. Without its own crew vehicle and recovery system, Europe would continue buying seats on American vehicles and renting space on commercial stations, at an estimated cost of €5 billion over the same period.

ESA received record budget commitments of more than €22 billion from member states at its 2025 ministerial council, a 32 percent increase from 2022. Member states also gave the agency a mandate to use space technology for non-aggressive security and defence tasks, including border monitoring. Aschbacher said the investment in independent crew access would keep the money inside the European industrial base rather than spending it abroad.

The global space industry is valued at roughly €600 billion and is expected to grow by about 10 percent a year. Europe already operates Ariane launchers and has a strong satellite sector, but lacks a human-rated spacecraft and the associated recovery infrastructure. Aschbacher estimated that the €10 billion figure would cover development of both the vehicle and the systems needed to return astronauts safely to Earth.

The proposal remains at the planning stage. No formal programme decision has been taken by member states. The alternative, continued reliance on partners, carries schedule and political risk once current US crew vehicles reach the end of their service lives. Aschbacher argued that building the capability would strengthen European industry and increase strategic autonomy in a domain where access is becoming more contested.