Reinforcing EU autonomous access to space through EU-based spaceports

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Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:

• Reinforcing EU strategic autonomy by reducing non-EU dependencies for accessing space;
• Providing an EU access to space necessary for EU space missions through state of the art and innovative solutions;
• Diversifying the access to space providers in the EU;
• Contributing to expand commercial access to space offers and services in the EU;
• Reinforcing Access to Space to ensure that Europe maintains and improve autonomous, reliable and cost-effective access to space. Scope:
The EU needs to improve the resilience of its access to space for the implementation of EU space programme. New entrants will contribute to this endeavour.
Projects are expected to support EU launch service providers to set up launch pad(s) in the EU territory enabling to perform EU launch services.
Projects are expected to contribute to the development of necessary ground facilities to conduct launch services from the EU territory; e.g. launch integration, storage and operation facilities, launch pad and complex, control command facility, payload processing and integration facilities, tracking means, safety means, propellant storage...
EU launch service provider(s) are expected to be part of the project consortium and be the ultimate users of the resulting facilities making use of EU launch vehicles for providing EU launch services.
Proposals under this topic should explore synergies and be complementary to past actions related to ground segment for launch services, in particular the topics: HORIZON-CL4-2023-SPACE-01-23 and HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-11.
All the activities should be complementary with national and ESA on-going or future activities, in particular those decided at the ESA council Ministerial Meeting in November 2025.
In this topic, the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content should be addressed only if relevant in relation to the objectives of the research effort.
Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects
Activities are expected to achieve TRL 8 by the end of the project. The reference TRL definition is the ISO 16290:2013 applicable to the space sector.

Status

Closed

Deadline

16 September 2026 (time not stated)

Opens

10 March 2026

Published

12 December 2025

Total budget

€22,590,000

Grant range

€10,000,000 – €15,000,000

Country

European Union (EU-wide)

Programme

Horizon Europe (HORIZON)

Funder

European Commission

Official page

Open at the source portal

What applying involved

14 steps, all of them taken from this call's own documents.

This call is closed. The steps below show what applying involved, and are kept for reference only.

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• Read the call on the source portal and download its documents
• Write the proposal against the award criteria and thresholds standard for this programme

  are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes — conditions §5a

• Check the grant's legal and financial set-up standard for this programme

  Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) . described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions described in the specific topic of the Work … — conditions §6

• Check the amount you plan to request against the call's range

Check you are eligible

• Check your country of establishment is eligible

  The source scopes this to EU Member States. — ai_results.eligibility

• Confirm your technology readiness level against the range the call states
• Check every partner is established in an eligible country standard for this programme

  described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide — conditions §2

• Meet the call's other eligibility conditions

  If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used). In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Norway and Iceland. Proposals including entities … — conditions §3

• Be able to show financial and operational capacity standard for this programme

  described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes — conditions §4

Prepare the documents

• Prepare Part B of the Application Form standard for this programme

  Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. — conditions

• Complete the detailed budget table standard for this programme
• Prepare the declaration of ownership and control standard for this programme

Submit

• Check the submission and evaluation process standard for this programme

  are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual — conditions §5b

• Submit before the closing date shown above

  The source states the closing day but no closing time — check the portal before the last day. — calls.deadline

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