The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected two firms to develop a commercial service capable of transporting cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS) in low Earth orbit by 2030.

The Exploration Company, which is based in Germany, and French firm Thales Alenia Space will each receive €25m (£21m) to help develop their ideas, which they will be expected to demonstrate “ideally” by 2028 and no later than 2030.

Europe currently relies on international partners to bring its cargo and crew to space, providing in exchange key contributions to international space projects, such as the Columbus laboratory on the ISS, or the European Service Modules that power the Orion vehicles for Artemis missions.

This competition to build a cargo service is designed to strengthen European industry’s independence for future business endeavours in low Earth orbit.

“The LEO Cargo Return Service project exemplifies ESA’s commitment to ensuring Europe’s prominent role in space exploration. It prepares...