Director General of the European Space Agency (THIS) Joseph Aschbacher 19 March 2026 officially announced the agency's intention to purchase a separate SpaceX Crew Dragon mission for a flight to the International Space Station (ISS).
EPIC mission details (ESA Provided Institutional Crew)
This project, supported by ESA member countries, was named EPIC and aims to expand the flight capabilities of European astronauts until the ISS is decommissioned in 2030 year.
Launch date: The flight is scheduled to start 2028 year.
Duration: The mission is classified as “of medium duration” and will last about one month. This is longer than private tourist flights (example, Axiom), but shorter than standard six-month expeditions.
Crew: It is planned to send a group of four people, which can enter as European astronauts of the new set 2022 year, as well as representatives of partner countries.
Task: In addition to scientific experiments, the EPIC crew will focus on ISS systems maintenance and logistics operations support.
Reasons for the decision
The decision is due to the limited number of places, which ESA receives from NASA under the current barter agreement. Currently, only two of the five new ESA astronauts have guaranteed flights: Sophie Adeno (which has been on the ISS as part of the Crew-12 mission since February 2026 year) and Raphael Liegeois. Buying the mission outright from SpaceX will allow the remaining astronauts to gain experience in orbit before the station closes.
Source: https://lookintothe.space