Earth observation satellites pass telecom in European space industry sales

MILAN – European space industry sales rebounded in 2025 after a contraction in 2024, Eurospace reported in its latest Facts and Figures report, presented July 7. The growth is driven in large part by military acquisition of Earth observation satellites, which are now the largest revenue-producing space sector for the continent. Satellite applications, which Eurospace defines as satellites enabling operational upstream-sector activities and applications within the EO, telecom and navigation segment, were the main area of growth, increasing 23.5% compared with 2023. “Comparably, the launcher systems segment [which include both development activities and operational systems and parts] have not grown significantly,” Pierre Lionnet, managing director of Eurospace, said during the briefing. Splitting product segments into subcategories gives a clearer picture of where sales are coming from. “Historically,” Lionnet said, “telecommunication systems were the number-one area of revenue for the European industry. But we now see that Earth observation systems have taken over telecommunication as the main revenue segment for the European industry.” For example in 2025 Earth observation systems manufacturing sales surpassed telecommunication systems by 24%. That shift is being driven by growing military demand, Lionnet added, “which now is mostly expressed toward Earth observation systems more than anything else.” Spain, France, Germany, Poland and Finland are registering the highest demand. Professional services, including technical assistance, financial assistance, engineering, system development and innovation road mapping, have also shown steady growth in recent years. “National and European agencies are now externalizing a number of things to the industry. A lot of that activity is now being outsourced to industrial players, and this is an interesting shift, because it has been a major area for industry revenue growth,” Lionnet remarked. ESA remains the main customer While Earth observation systems, supported by military demand, are now the major driver of European industry sales, the European Space Agency remains the industry’s largest customer. ESA-related revenues increased by 560 million euro (+20%) from 2024 to 2025, supported by policy and strategy reforms introduced to allow faster spending within the agency’s processes. The second-largest source of revenue has come from non-European commercial customers, categorized in the report as commercial export programs. This includes sales by European companies to private entities outside Europe, covering components and equipment, development systems, launcher elements and complete satellites. “All the exports have seen growth in recent years, which was unexpected,” Lionnet said. That growth is split roughly equally between full spacecraft systems and equipment, including launcher fairings and deployment systems. Those systems have become an important business line linked to the development of launch activi…