2 July 2026 – Airbus Defence and Space has signed the initial contract for the design and build of the Aeolus-2 wind sensing satellite from the European Space Agency (ESA) at a ceremony at ESA’s UK headquarters ECSAT at Harwell. Aeolus-2 will follow the first Aeolus wind sensing satellite built by Airbus and launched in 2018. The satellite provided the first-ever high-resolution vertical wind profiles from space, enabling a 4% improvement of numerical weather forecasting, and significantly enhanced the accuracy of global weather prediction models benefiting European stakeholders and society. Read more