Record participation in ESA’s Industry Space Days 2026
ESA / About Us / Business with ESA
On 16–17 September, the European Space Agency (ESA) hosted a record 3100 visitors from Europe’s space industry for a two-day Industry Space Days (ISD) event at ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in the Netherlands.
As the largest ESA-focused business-to-business event, the ISD has become a key date on the European space calendar.
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher welcomed participants to the event where more than 100 presentations were delivered in the three conference halls giving insights into ESA’s near- and long-term activities and procurement needs across all ESA programmes.
The B2B zone at Industry Space Days 2026 at ESA–ESTEC in the Netherlands
In the business-to-business (B2B) zone about 1500 companies of all sizes alongside investors and ESA representatives met for almost 10 000 prescheduled and additional informal meetings to discuss potential opportunities and collaboration or to simply explore possibilities face-to-face.
With about 240 exhibitors in the Exhibition Hall, which included startups in ESA’s Business Incubation Centre (BIC) Village, this event enabled Europe’s space industry from all ESA Member States, Cooperating States and Associate States to showcase their capabilities and connect.
The event featured panel discussions, workshops, social networking opportunities and ESA awards.
The Technology tent, dedicated to European technologies, was a new addition to the ISD and allowed companies with completed ESA Technology projects to pitch their engineering solutions. ESA laboratories were open too.
The ISD is organised by ESA’s SME section in ESA's Directorate of Finance, Controlling and Operational Procurement to foster cooperation within the entire space sector.
Jens Kauffmann, Head of ESA’s SME Section
“Bringing together 3100 participants, around 1500 companies for many thousands of scheduled and ad-hoc scheduled meetings required a major team effort across ESA,” said Jens Kauffmann, Head of ESA’s SME Section.
“The record participation confirms the strong demand from industry for direct access to ESA programmes, procurement information and new business partners. Our aim was to create practical opportunities for companies of all sizes, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, to connect, collaborate and grow within Europe’s space ecosystem.”
Many companies attending this event have been before and are suppliers to ESA. This was the twelfth edition of the ISD which is held every two years and is intended to forge stronger business collaboration among space businesses in Europe and enables ESA to communicate in person with Europe’s industry.
ESA directors Christine Klein and Dietmar Pilz
Christine Klein, ESA Director of Finance, Controlling and Operational Procurement, commented: “The Industry Space Days is an ideal platform to help us work together with our Member States, industrial partners, and wider stakeholders so that we can support each other and build on our capabilities.
“I am delighted that this year we saw more demand for the ISD than ever, which led to a sold-out event. Thank you to everyone who participated – and a special thanks to the great teams that organised this event. I look forward to the next one in 2028.”
Photos and presentations
View and download photos of Industry Space Days 2026 from ESA's photo gallery and share your experiences of the event on social media using the hashtag #ISD2026ESA.
The presentations from ESA will soon be available to download from the ISD website.
Panel discussions at Industry Space Days 2026 at ESA–ESTEC in the Netherlands
Industry Space Days 2026 at ESA–ESTEC in the Netherlands
Pitching in the Technology tent at Industry Space Days 2026 at ESA–ESTEC in the Netherlands
Startups exhibit in the ESA BIC Village at Industry Space Days 2026 at ESA–ESTEC in the Netherlands
The B2B zone at Industry Space Days 2026 at ESA–ESTEC in the Netherlands
Industry Space Days 2026 at ESA–ESTEC in the Netherlands
Startups exhibit in the ESA BIC Village at Industry Space Days 2026 at ESA–ESTEC in the Netherlands
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