The European Space Agency (ESA) is struggling to keep up with the rapid pace of space launches in the United States, especially with companies like SpaceX. In 2025, SpaceX launched 170 rockets in the U.S., while Europe managed only eight launches, despite growing demand for satellite services. This imbalance has become a major topic of discussion at an international space summit held in Paris on September 9. The summit brings together government officials and industry leaders to debate whether Europe will soon lack the necessary launch capacity to meet rising needs. Demand for satellite launches is growing rapidly, particularly for large constellations used in global internet services, such as SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper (formerly known as Amazon Leo). Europe is also developing its own constellation called Iris². Additionally, there is a strong need for Earth observation satellites, which are crucial for environmental monitoring and applications like connected vehicles and defense systems. ESA director Joseph Aschbacher told the Financial Times in August that launch demand is expected to peak between 2029 and 2031, raising concerns that Europe may not have enough rockets to meet the demand, allowing other nations to gain an advantage. Creating more rockets is a complex challenge. Christophe Bruno, CEO of ArianeGroup, which builds the European heavy rocket Ariane 6, explains that producing a rocket involves hundreds of thousands of parts and requires coordination among 600 suppliers across 13 countries. This is akin to a Formula 1 car manufacturer trying to produce mass-market vehicles—requiring significant changes to production processes and faster manufacturing. Ariane 6, the current heavy-lift rocket, can carry up to 11 tonnes of payload, but it is most efficient when carrying a single large satellite or multiple smaller ones. However, this system lacks the flexibility needed for the growing variety of launch needs. To address this, the ESA has shifted its approach. Instead of building rockets entirely in-house, as with Ariane 6, the agency has launched a competition to support new space companies. The goal is to develop a range of rockets that can meet diverse market demands by 2030. This includes the possibility of smaller, reusable rockets that can be launched more frequently and at lower costs. These could be launched from the ESA’s Kourou center in French Guiana or from sites in Europe, such as Andøya in Norway. Four companies are currently competing to build these new rockets. Two are from Germany: Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) and Isar Aerospace, which recently achieved a successful orbital launch. A Spanish company, PDL Space, and a French company, MaiaSpace, are also in the race. MaiaSpace plans to conduct its first test flight by the second half of 2027, with a reusable rocket. This competition represents a key step in Europe’s effort to diversify and increase its launch capabilities, aiming to keep pace with the global space industry.