Media invitation: ESA programme at Berlin International Air Show, ILA 2026

The European Space Agency (ESA) will participate in the Berlin International Aerospace Show (ILA) taking place 10-14 June 2026 at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) with a number of panels, conferences and events.

Under this year's slogan 'Space4Future', the ILA Space Pavilion will highlight the growing importance of space for the future of our society. The pavilion is coordinated by three partners: BDLI, the German Aerospace Industries Association; DLR, the German Aerospace Centre, and ESA - under the patronage of BMFTR, the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.

ESA representatives, ministries, agencies, aerospace companies and scientific experts will discuss the key themes of Imagine, Autonomy and Resilience, Exploration and Discovery, Technology and Operations, and Planet and Climate.

Throughout the five-day event, an immersive exhibition at the ILA Space Pavilion, located in Hall B, will serve as a platform to present the latest programmes, missions and technologies in the European space sector. An extensive programme of sessions awaits thousands of professional attendees on the first three days, while the final two days will be open to the public.

Highlights and media opportunities (all times in CET)

ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, as well as a number of ESA Directors and ESA astronauts, will be on site, speaking at events and available for interviews.

Tuesday 9 June - Backstage tour for media (in German only)

11:40 Visit of the various stands of ILA, including the ESA stand in the Space Pavillion - informal pre-event tour for German speaking media, by BDLI, DLR, Messe Berlin and ESA.

Wednesday 10 June - Trade Day

10:15 - 11:00 Official Opening of ILA Space Pavilion with German Research, Technology and Space Minister Dorothee Bär, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR Walther Pelzer, ESA astronauts Matthias Maurer and Alexander Gerst, and BDLI President Mike Schöllhorn - Livestreamed on ESA Web TV

11:00 - 11:45 In-Space Operations and Services - Signing Ceremony with ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and EU Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius

15.45 - 16.30 Panel on Planetary Defence with ESA Director for Operations, Rolf Densing

16.30 - 17.15 Panel on From Earth Observation to Actionable Intelligence with ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes, Simonetta Cheli

Thursday 11 June - Trade Day (ILA Space Day)

9:15 - 10:00 ESA Media Briefing withESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and ESA astronauts Matthias Maurer and Alexander Gerst - Livestreamed on ESA Web TV

10:15 - 11:00 Official Opening of ILA Space Day Conference 2026 with Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR Walther Pelzer, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and Vice-President for Space at BDLI Marc Steckling

11:00 - 12:00 German-Italian Aerospace Forum on Resilient Earth Observation: EU Secure Connectivity with Thales Alenia Space Italia CEO Giampiero di Paolo, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR Walther Pelzer

12.45 - 13.30 Panel on Europe's Independent Access to Space with ESA Director of Space Transportation, Géraldine Naja, ArianeGroup CEO Christophe Bruneau, Chairman of the Executive Board of MT Aerospace Ulrich Scheib, Chief Commercial Officer of IsarAerospace Stella Guillen, Member of the European Parliament Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann

14:15 - 14:30 Live Inflight Call with ESA Astronaut Sophie Adenot on ISS, with ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration Daniel Neuenschwander

14:30 - 15:15 Panel on Europe on the Moon Capabilities, Contributions and Next Steps withESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration Daniel Neuenschwander

15:15 - 16:00 Panel on Autonoy from Space with ArianeGroup Chief Industrial Officer Jens Franzeck, CGI Deutschland B.V. & Co. KG Head Space Germany Ulli Leibnitz, ESA Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality Dietmar Pilz, Astrofein Managing Director Sebastian Scheiding and Technical Coordinator for Civil-Military Applications Tobias Stangier.

16:00 - 16:45 Panel on World-Class Space Science: From Research Missions to Orbital Infrastructure with ESA Astronaut Alexander Gerst

16:45 - 17:30 Panel on High-Tech in Space with Jena-Optronik CEO Peter Kapell, ESA Head of Space Safety Programme Office Holger Krag and Tesat-Spacecom

Friday 12 June - Trade Day

9:00 - 10:30 IAWA Forum Europe 2026 Space and defence : Space security opportunities and way ahead for civil and military European actors with ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes Simonetta Cheli

14.00-16.00 Human Space Exploration: ILA Astronauts' Day with ESA reserve astronauts Amelie Schoenenwaldand Carmen Possnig

17.15-17.30 The Human Connection: Keeping astronaut "at Home" in Orbit. An inside look at the high-stakes crew support operations that maintain well-being and connection to Earth during space mission with Crew Support Engineer for ESA, Telespazio Germany Maria Grulich

Please consult the full programme on the ILA website for possible updates.

Accreditation

Journalists wishing to attend ILA Berlin must register for media accreditation via the ILA Berlin website: ILA - Messe Berlin.

For more information or to request interviews, please contact:

Bernhard Von Weyhe, ESA Senior Media Relations Officer

Email: [email protected]

Simona Nichiteanu, Media Relations for Esoc and Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Czech Republic

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +4916092948915

For astronauts requests, please contact Cyrielle Bouju, Communication Programme Officer

[email protected]

Images

ESA's Photo Library for Professionals: https://www.esa-photolibrary.com/

Terms and conditions for using ESA images: https://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images

For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly [email protected]

Videos

ESA's Video Library for Professionals: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos

Terms and conditions for using ESA video: https://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images

For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly [email protected]

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About the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe's gateway to space.

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 23 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia are Associate Members.

ESA has established formal cooperation with three Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.

Learn more about ESA at https://www.esa.int.