Rocket shortage leaves Europe defenseless in space wars

On the northwest coast of a mountainous Arctic island, facing the Norwegian Sea, lies arguably the world’s most dramatic launch site for rockets.

The stream of political leaders visiting the Andøya Spaceport in northern Norway shows its vital importance: it may be Europe’s best shot at catching up in the race to militarize space while breaking free from dependence on Elon Musk’s SpaceX. 

Launching satellites into orbit “is a capability that is important for Norway, for the EU, for Europe,” Ketil Olsen, the chief executive officer of Andøya Space and formerly a Norwegian vice admiral, said in an interview. “For us it’s about strategic autonomy, it’s about sovereignty, and it’s about European independence.”

It’s also yet to come to fruition. 

Satellites for observation, communications and precise geolocation have been military necessities for years, and new weapons such as orbital interceptors and inspection systems are heading in that direction. China, Russia and the US are pouring more than $200 billion into such efforts, putting hundreds of satellites in orbit over the last half-decade and testing weapons on Earth and in space.

Missing from this intensifying race is Europe, hobbled by misaligned interests, limited national budgets and the lack of a crucial piece of space technology: enough heavy launchers to make scores of trips to orbit each year. 

China’s Long March 5 and Russia’s Proton-M and Angara A5 launchers can each take about 25,000 kilograms (55,116 pounds) to orbit. The SpaceX Falcon Heavy can carry almost 64,000 kg.

Ariane 6, operated by France-based commercial launch provider Arianespace SA, can carry about 22,000 kg — but booster production and infrastructure limit it to about 10 launches per year.

In 2025, the US averaged more than 15 launches per month, led by SpaceX. Closing that gap while avoiding dependence on a foreign company is the biggest obstacle to preventing Europe from being left behind in the orbital arms race. And doing so would cost billions of euros.

“If Europe is serious about being a sovereign space power, it should be able to meet its satellite needs by itself,” said Bleddyn Bowen, author of Original Sin: Power, Technology and War in Outer Space and an associate professor of astropolitics at Durham University in the UK. “That’s the fundamental plank of being a space power of any kind.”

European startups are racing to create an alternative to the US, but there have been only a handful of launches. Their focus is on speed, reusability and homegrown security rather than payload, limiting their usefulness for the military.

One of Europe’s great hopes, Isar Aerospace SE of Germany, has scrubbed its planned “Onward and Upward” mission multiple times and has yet to set a new date. Its first launch attempt a year ago — the only time an orbital launch has been tried from continental Europe — flew for about 30 seconds before crashing. Its Spectrum rocket is expected to have a payload of only 1,000 kilograms.

Daniel Metzler, the company’s chief executive officer and co-founder,........

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