- ESA station studies
- Development capped at EUR 1B per three-year period (Sept 2026)
Airbus is Europe's largest aerospace group, building commercial aircraft, helicopters, satellites, and defence systems, with operations centred on Toulouse. Its Defence and Space division was selected by ESA in September 2026 to lead one of two industrial studies for a European-led space station in low Earth orbit, drawing on the Columbus module and Orion service module it builds for the ISS and NASA.