SpaceWatch.Global

SWGL Intelligence Brief — Week of 25–31 May 2026 Three days at SmallSat Europe in Amsterdam, one conclusion across all of them: Europe can increasingly build the systems and is learning to harden them, but the business model for monetising them at scale is not there yet. Across every track the bottleneck was the same- industrial absorption and coordination, not money and not technology. The opening keynote set the tone. Massimo C Comparini, Managing Director of Leonardo Space and Chairman of Thales Alenia Space, rejected the premise the setting was built on: there is no "new space" versus "old space"- "it's an evolution," and the incumbents are evolving with it. His proof point was Leonardo's new Rome factory, built to produce two satellites a week for a multi-sensor ISR constellation. A prime telling a hall of smallsat companies it has already absorbed the shift they define themselves against. From the defence side, Major General Wolfgang Ohl described German procurement as a rolling process renewed every few years rather than delivered once a decad, the demand model the sector has been waiting for. But two production philosophies sat side by side in Amsterdam. Leonardo claims two satellites a week; SITAEL, confirming its prime role on ESA's Scout HiBiDiS mission alongside a €200 million growth plan, deliberately chooses tens of high-value platforms a year over megaconstellation volume. Both call themselves the European answer. They cannot both be right about where the market goes. Access to orbit remains the unresolved constraint. At the conference, rideshare integrators Exolaunch and SEOPS each bought dedicated Falcon 9 launches — not because SpaceX is retreating, but because Transporter is so oversubscribed, manifested into 2028, that buying whole flights is now how you create capacity. Days later, Blue Origin's New Glenn exploded in an engine-firing test at Cape Canaveral, its second setback in six weeks. The Western launch market is strained at both ends, and Europe still cannot offer affordable access to fill the gap. In the closing fireside EU Satellite Centre director Rear Admiral Louis T. put numbers on the sovereignty shift: 70 percent of SatCen's imagery was non-European in 2011; 86 percent is European today. The warning came with it, fifteen uncoordinated national systems are not capability, they are duplicated noise. Sovereignty without harmonisation is fragmentation. Beyond Amsterdam: China launched Shenzhou-23 to Tiangong; Isar Aerospace signed with Maritime Launch Services for capacity in Canada; ORBITInsure launched an AI-native underwriting engine for the space economy. What to watch: ILA Berlin - Pioneering Aerospace in June, where the conversation moves from industry to state. More SmallSat Europe coverage, Space Café Clips, and the Space Café Radios across SpaceWatch.Global and our channels.

Serbia’s Space Potential Faces Reality Can raw talent survive without a structured national space ecosystem? Tamara Blagojević examines how Serbian researchers, startups, and students are breaking into the space sector through individual effort, international partnerships, and upcoming satellite missions. Yet, without sustained institutional backing and policy frameworks, the country risks losing its expertise to brain drain. 🔗 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/dNFFQTTR #SpaceWatchGLOpinion #Ecosystem #SpaceTalent #Serbia #1stCSST Milan Stojanovic Zoran Tomic Dr. Filip Jovićević Montenegro Space Research LAUNCHERSCANNER Argo Vuk Maksić Nikola Tasic Kosmoprojekt Hellenic Space Center

Overlooked Space Thermal Design Realities Thermal analysis rarely gets the spotlight, yet spacecraft cannot survive without it. Daniela Jovic speaks with Laura González Llamazares of Radian Systems at #SmallSat Europe about shifting thermal considerations from a late-stage validation step to an early design driver. Their cloud-based platform now runs parallel parametric design scenarios to accelerate spacecraft development. 🔗 Watch: https://lnkd.in/dzJhUA2t #SpaceWatchNews #Thermal #Satellite ORBITALYX

Polish Optical Payloads Expanding Globally Poland's Scanway S.A. is expanding its global footprint with advanced optical instruments for commercial and dual-use space applications. Daniela Jovic speaks with Oskar Zdunek at #SmallSat Europe about establishing a U.S. presence, capitalizing on growing national space investment in Poland, and navigating the contrasting decision-making speeds of European and American space markets. 🔗 Watch: https://lnkd.in/d7GR3w9A #SpaceWatchNews #Satellite #Payload ORBITALYX

NewSpace Systems Expands into Europe South Africa's NewSpace Systems is establishing a new facility in the Netherlands to bring its guidance, navigation, and control hardware closer to European partners. Daniela Jovic speaks with Ritisha Leché Munsamy (MBA) at #SmallSat Europe about this expansion and the debut of their multi-band GNSS receiver, highlighting South Africa's growing role in global space manufacturing. 🔗 Watch: https://lnkd.in/dEX6Ahxg #SpaceCafeClip #Satellite #Manufacturing ORBITALYX

Software’s Critical Role in Modern Space Software is now just as critical as hardware. Daniela Jovic speaks with Kevin Vainio at #SmallSat Europe about Gofore's 35 years of European Space Agency - ESA flight software heritage and the balance between AI acceleration and mission reliability. As satellite volumes grow, integrating cross-sector AI expertise must happen alongside strict qualification standards and orbital stewardship. 🔗 Watch: https://lnkd.in/dvcBuixU #SpaceCafeClip #Software #Satellite ORBITALYX

Europe’s Space Industrial Base Facing Checkpoint Can Europe turn national space ambitions into a unified continental supply chain? Torsten Kriening reports from #SmallSat Europe in Amsterdam, where industry leaders shifted the conversation from strategy to execution. Moving beyond isolated flagship programs like IRIS² toward true production scale remains Europe's defining challenge to match global competitors. 🔗 Watch: https://lnkd.in/dQSSB2tU #SpaceCafeClip #SpaceEconomy #Satellite

New Glenn Rocket Pad Explosion Blue Origin’s New Glenn orbital vehicle exploded during a static fire test at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. No casualties occurred despite major infrastructure damage. The incident follows a $188 million NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration contract award to launch lunar rovers, prompting a thorough investigation into the impact on upcoming Artemis missions. 🔗 Read: https://lnkd.in/dzz3UnJN #SpaceWatchNews #Launch #Investigation United States Space Force

Dunmore and Aviotec Support Proba-3 Dunmore has supplied critical raw materials to Aviotec for the Multi-Layer Insulation systems on European Space Agency - ESA’s Proba-3 mission. The specialized blankets provide essential thermal protection for the precision formation flying spacecraft as they study the Sun's corona, meeting strict tolerances required for sensitive onboard optical instruments. 🔗 Read: https://lnkd.in/dugs_Nta #SpaceWatchNews #Thermal #Satellite Nik Taritas Riccardo Barresi Airbus Defence and Space Sener Aerospace & Defence

SEOPS Launches LEO Rideshare Program SEOPS has announced its Waymaker program, offering dedicated rideshare missions to LEO. The initiative provides standardized capacity, engineering flexibility, and built-in flight safety services to address growing demand for reliable launch access. The inaugural Waymaker-1 mission is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in 2028. 🔗 Read: https://lnkd.in/dRv4_4uc #SpaceWatchNews #Launch #Satellite Maverick Space Systems Evan Hoyt Digantara