SES's first Boeing-built O3b mPower satellites failed in orbit. Now insurers are resisting a claim of up to $472 million, exposing the financial risk behind Luxembourg's space ambitions.
The UN-backed Asteroid Day, run from Luxembourg, returned to the capital on 26-27 June with retired NASA astronaut Mike Foreman among the guests — a public showcase that doubles as a stocktake of the Grand Duchy's decade-old bet on space resources, the Luxembourg Space Agency, SES and a European space cluster.
Mission Space, a space-weather forecasting start-up listed in the Luxembourg Space Agency's directory, launched its first Zohar sensor in March 2025 and is building toward a 24-node orbital constellation — offering a tangible test of Luxembourg's nearly decade-long bet on the space economy.
Luxembourg is landlocked, but its finance and digital economy depend on submarine cables now treated as a front line. Here is the Grand Duchy's real stake — and its role.