September 2026
The ESA Industry Space Days (ISD) 2026 brought together the European space community at ESA/ESTEC in Noordwijk for two intensive days of exchange, networking and discussion about the future of the European space industry.
With around 2,950 participants, 1,500 companies and organisations and 236 exhibition booths, this year’s event was larger than ever. The strong participation underlined the importance of the ISD as a meeting point for the ESA ecosystem, with a particular focus on industry relations, the European supply chain and SMEs.
HPS Germany, HPS Romania and HPtex at ISD 2026
HPS Munich (Germany), was represented together with HPS Bucharest (Romania) and HPtex, Münchberg (Germany), at our joint booth. Across the two days, we had a continuous stream of visitors and were particularly impressed by the highly specific and technically detailed enquiries from companies and organisations across the industry.
The discussions covered virtually our entire portfolio, including:
- Reflector antennas
- Small deployable antenna subsystems
- Large Deployable Reflector Subsystems (LDRS)
- MLI and other thermal hardware
- High-precision metallic space meshes
- Lightweight Structures
- MGSE.
The wide range of discussions also demonstrated how closely interconnected the different parts of the European space supply chain have become. From individual components and technologies to complete subsystems, there was strong interest in both established HPS capabilities and our latest developments.
At the same time, ISD provided an excellent opportunity to meet with existing customers and business partners and to establish new contacts. Many conversations continued with numerous meetings taking place with ESA representatives from Technical Officers up to directors.
An important role for European SMEs
One of the central themes of ISD 2026 was the role of small and medium-sized enterprises in the European space ecosystem.
During the event, ESA presented new statistics covering the past five years:
- 1,750 SMEs have worked with ESA
- 32% of all ESA contracts went to SMEs
- 13% of the ESA budget was allocated to SMEs.
These figures underline the importance of SMEs as an integral part of the European space supply chain and as an important source of technological development, flexibility and innovation.
For HPS, this topic is particularly relevant. As an independent German space SME, we have been working with ESA and other institutional and commercial partners for more than two decades, developing and delivering mission-critical space hardware ranging from antennas and deployable structures to thermal hardware and deorbit systems.
HPS on the SME Panel
HPS CEO Dr. Ernst K. Pfeiffer was invited to participate in the SME panel “European Space SMEs: Powering Innovation, Competitiveness and Growth”.
The panel brought together different perspectives from across the European SME landscape, with Hans Bracquene (SME4SPACE), Linn Fris-Liby (AAC Clyde Space) and Fabiana Milza (T4i) joining the discussion, moderated by Jens Kauffmann.
The discussion highlighted the importance of maintaining a strong and competitive European SME base and of creating an environment in which innovative companies can continue to grow within the European space ecosystem.
Two days full of exchange
Beyond the numbers and formal programme, ISD 2026 was above all about people: customers, suppliers, partners, ESA representatives, fellow SMEs and companies from across Europe and beyond.
With the many exhibition stands, technical demonstrations and conversations taking place throughout ESA/ESTEC, the event once again created a strong ESA ecosystem feeling and provided an ideal environment for direct and open exchange.
For HPS Group, ISD 2026 was therefore an excellent opportunity to showcase our capabilities, strengthen existing relationships especially with ESA and identify new opportunities for cooperation across the European space industry.
Thank you to ESA and everyone who visited our booth and contributed to the discussions. We look forward to continuing the conversations and turning new ideas into the next generation of space hardware.
