The European Space Agency (ESA) has adjusted the scope of Phase 2 of its LEO Cargo Return Services programme to account for the retirement of the International Space Station (ISS). Under the new call, the agency will accept proposals for demonstration missions to a future commercial LEO destination by the end of 2030.
ESA announced the launch of its LEO Cargo Return Services initiative in May 2023 with the aim of fostering the development of a sovereign European space cargo transport service. In December 2023, the agency published a call for proposals for the initiative’s first phase. At the time, the agency explained that the initiative would conclude with a demonstration mission to and from the ISS before the end of 2028.
In May 2024, the agency awarded Phase 1 contracts to The Exploration Company and Thales Alenia Space. This phase of the initiative is focused on the maturation of the individual proposals and is expected to run until June 2026. At the time the agency awarded the two contracts, it had adjusted the timeline for the launch of the demonstration mission slightly, stating that it would ideally occur before 2028 and no later than 2030. This is, of course, a hard deadline, as the station is expected to be deorbited after 2030.
On 8 January 2026, the agency published a call for proposals for Phase 2, which it explained has been renamed the Autonomous LEO Accelerated Demo Docking to ISS Node (ALADDIN) initiative. According to the call, the operational timeline for deorbiting the International Space Station requires the demonstration mission to be executed during the second quarter of 2029. If it is launched any later, no docking port will be available for the prospective cargo vessel.
In recognition of the challenges associated with the target launch date, ESA is opening a second “Slice” of Phase 2 that will allow bidders to submit proposals for a demonstration mission to a future commercial space station, to be carried out by the end of 2031. This second slice of the ALADDIN initiative would begin in the first quarter of 2029. The first slice will run from October 2026 through the fourth quarter of 2028, ahead of the ISS-destined demonstration mission in early 2029.
Speaking to European Spaceflight following the conclusion of the ESA Ministerial Council meeting in November 2025, Director of Human and Robotic Exploration Daniel Neuenschwander explained that Member States had agreed to fund two Phase 2 contracts. Member States also agreed to fund an additional four missions aboard the vehicles following the successful conclusion of the demonstration missions. These missions would presumably support ESA’s contributions to the utilisation of commercial LEO destinations.
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