Every European astronaut who reaches orbit today does it on someone else's spacecraft. ESA director general Josef Aschbacher wants that to change, and he's put a number on it: about €10 billion over ten years.

On 15 December, ESA's member states meet in Rome for the Intermediate Ministerial Meeting 2026. They'll decide whether to back a European system that can carry astronauts into orbit and bring them home.

The investment would build a crewed transport and return capability. This is an estimation; the actual budgetary allocation has yet to be........

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