OHB announced on May 11, 2026, its collaboration on the development of VORTEX-S, a reusable spaceplane conceived by Dassault Aviation for low Earth orbit missions. This vehicle is designed to transport cargo to and from future space stations, perform autonomous orbital missions, and serve both civilian and military applications. Dassault and OHB will propose this spaceplane to the European Space Agency (ESA).
The VORTEX program, an acronym for Véhicule Orbital Réutilisable de Transport et d’Exploration (Reusable Orbital Transport and Exploration Vehicle), was initially presented by Dassault Aviation during the 2025 Paris Air Show. The French company described VORTEX as a family of reusable space vehicles, progressively developed from a scaled-down demonstrator named VORTEX-D.
According to information revealed in 2025 during a French parliamentary defense committee hearing, the demonstrator is expected to fly in 2027. The project is estimated to cost approximately 70 million Euros, funded partly by Dassault Aviation and partly by the French government through the Ministry of Armed Forces.
Under the newly signed agreement, Dassault Aviation will be responsible for the overall development of the spaceplane and project coordination, while OHB will develop the service module. Both companies have stated their intention to involve other European partners to expand the industrial consortium.
Potential Role in ESA’s Orbital Cargo Program
Although the companies have not explicitly stated which ESA program their proposal will target, the operational profile of VORTEX-S appears compatible with the European LEO Cargo Return Service project.
ESA’s initiative, launched in 2023, aims to develop a European system for transporting and returning cargo from low Earth orbit. In the program’s first phase, The Exploration Company and Thales Alenia Space were selected and funded to mature their cargo vehicle concepts.
However, in 2026, ESA opened the second phase of the program to companies that had not initially participated. This may have created an opportunity for the VORTEX-S project to be considered.
Dassault Aviation’s initial roadmap described the “S” model as a smaller version, primarily dedicated to autonomous orbital missions. More recent statements, however, also indicate the vehicle is capable of transporting cargo to and from space stations. This shift suggests the project may have been adapted to meet ESA’s requirements.
