Enlarge / A rendering of the European cargo reentry vehicle proposed by Thales Alenia Space.Thales Alecia Space
The European Space Agency has awarded initial contracts to a German-based startup and one of the continent’s established aerospace companies to develop spacecraft to ferry cargo to and from space stations in low-Earth orbit.
ESA announced the two 25 million euro ($27 million) contracts May 22. The Exploration Company, co-located in France and Germany, and Thales Alenia Space of Italy beat out four other companies in the competition for ESA funding through the LEO Cargo Return Service program.
These contracts will run for two
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