2026-09-14 (contract detail): ALADDIN's €760M (~$882M) splits as
€310M for the demo mission + €450M for two optional service missions
(ESA release — previously "up to €760M"; the optionality is now
quantified). TEC secured 40% of the Nyx demo financing from private
investors; ESA covers 60%.
2026-09-10 the operator turn gets funded — TEC won an ESA contract
worth up to €760M (~$882M) to fly a demonstration mission of Nyx
to the ISS in 2028 (SpaceNews/Foust, from the ISS Summit). Nyx was
cargo-to-commercial-stations; the ISS demo is now the program's near-
term anchor, and this is the largest European commercial-transport
award since the ELC set. Aschbacher's same-summit speech ("passengers
or pilots? ... Europe must take steps now to shape its own future")
is the frame; PLD Space rebranded its ELC-funded Block 1.2 evolution
Miura 9 (1,500 kg to 500 km SSO, NSF: "significantly less powerful
than Falcon 9"). Ledger: Nyx 2028 demo. The cluster — TEC contract,
Loft Orbital/Marlan constellation, Aschbacher speech,
Miura 9 — is one deliberate European week.