ESA urges Europe to boost space funding to catch up with the United States

Moscow (ANTARA) - Europe will not be able to close the gap with the United States in the space industry unless it can double or triple investment in the sector.

“If we do not make a major change, we will never be able to close the gap. We will always be left behind, and this is certainly a significant risk,” said the Director-General of the European Space Agency (ESA), Josef Aschbacher, on Thursday to Politico at the sidelines of the GLOBSEC forum in Prague.

The head of ESA added that the European Union currently accounts for only 10 percent of total global public funding for the space sector.

“I am asking policymakers to double our investments, at least twofold, if not threefold… There is no alternative. We have to do this. For me, this is not merely a backup plan,” he said.

Earlier in October 2025, Aschbacher had stated that Europe must create its own operational reusable launch vehicle to close the gap with SpaceX, the space company owned by US entrepreneur Elon Musk.