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After repeated delays, SpaceX’s latest rideshare mission, Transporter-15, should finally lift off on Friday with a huge payload of 140 small satellites.

With its tiny Mauve satellite among them, the long played-out event in Vandenberg, California is being watched with excitement by a team of astrophysicists at Maynooth University.

SpaceX initially planned the launch on November 19 but has seen repeated delays, the latest on Wednesday when the countdown was halted just over 15 minutes from liftoff. No reason was given, though the company said “vehicle and payloads remain healthy”.

“There are a thousand ways that a launch can go wrong and only one way that it can go right,” a SpaceX spokeswoman said on the launch webcast. “So, given that, we are overly cautious on the ground, and if the team or the vehicle sees anything that looks even slightly off, we’ll stop the countdown.”

Mauve is a miniature ultraviolet space telescope built by UK company Blue Skies Space.

Equipped with a 13-centimetre telescope and spectrometer, Mauve will spend the next few years staring at nearby stars, watching for violent flares and magnetic storms that can make or break the habitability of surrounding exoplanets.

A team led by astrophysicist Dr Emma Whelan will help design observing campaigns and mine the data to understand how young stars form and how their weather shapes emerging planetary systems.

Maynooth University bought into the Mauve science programme with funding from Research-Ireland.

The Mauve team includes scientists from Boston University, Japan’s Astronomical Observatory and Italy’s Astrophysics Institute as well as Maynooth.

Irish space companies had a record year with the European Space Agency in 2024, winning around €24m in contracts, more than double the 2023 figure.

ESA doesn't publish individual contract values for commercial reasons, but the projects themselves show where the money is going.

Galway's ÉireComposites and materials startup Lios are developing lighter, cheaper composite structures and acoustic protection for rockets.

Confluent Research is working on advanced heat exchangers for reusable launch systems.

Réaltra supplied HD video cameras and avionics for Ariane 6's maiden flight and is building electronics for ESA's PLATO exoplanet mission.

On Earth observation and climate, Ubotica is putting AI directly on satellites, turning raw imagery into rapid intelligence for agriculture, disaster response, and maritime monitoring.

TechWorks Marine is using satellite data to help plan offshore wind farms. Senus, Treemetrics and partners are applying space data to soil carbon, forestry, and biodiversity credits – moving from one-off surveys to continuous, satellite-verified monitoring.

Navigation and positioning form another cluster. Through ESA's NAVISP programme, Irish firms are turning Europe's Galileo system into commercial products. Taoglas is developing next-generation antennas. Superfy is building tamper-proof audit trails for hazardous materials using GNSS signals. Provizio is using ESA support to make 4D automotive radar more reliable when GPS drops out.

In the sphere of communications and ground infrastructure, Mbryonics is working on optical and quantum communications. It’s become a global leader in laser links between satellites and future space-based quantum key distribution.

The National Space Centre in Cork is adding ground stations and preparing its Big Dish for deep-space communications, addressing ESA's shortage of large antennas. ST Engineering iDirect in Dublin is building a multi-orbit ground system so operators can hop seamlessly between different satellite constellations.

Add specialist software from O.C.E. Technology and Skytek, including software for NASA and ESA's Lunar Gateway, and you get a sense of Ireland’s growing role in developing niche, high-value technology that slots into much larger European missions.

France and Germany have committed a combined €45bn to developing their military space programmes over the next five years, broadening the playing field for Irish space companies seeking European contracts.

Both countries are accelerating launch infrastructure, expanding space surveillance capabilities, and developing systems to inspect and protect spacecraft in orbit.

France is modernising its launch capability at the Kourou spaceport and increasing Ariane 6 flights. Germany is backing two domestic launch companies through the European Launch Challenge.

Irish firms already have an in. Réaltra, for example, is providing video telemetry systems for Ariane 6, securing a €1.5m contract in October for seven more camera units.

Nammo Ireland manufactures engine components. More European rocketry means more demand for flight-proven subsystems.

Both Germany and France have made situational awareness in space, the ability to track objects and detect threats, a priority.

France is funding ground-based radar systems including AURORE and Jewel, a joint Franco-German early-warning system.

Software suppliers have a real opportunity as both countries need systems that fuse multiple data streams, things like radar, Earth observation and radio frequencies, into a single operational unit.

Ubotica has built AI platforms that run directly on satellites, processing imagery to detect vessels or classify objects without needlessly transmitting vast amounts of raw data.

Skytek develops key software for the International Space Station and uses satellite data for maritime monitoring. Both capabilities address what France and Germany require: turning sensor data into actionable intelligence.

France also wants satellites that can inspect and protect its spacecraft. Germany mentions "on-orbit logistics" and limiting enemy room to manoeuvre in space. That requires navigation systems and inspection cameras, but also software capable of coordinating multiple sensors. Irish companies are already providing services in these areas under existing ESA contracts.

The Réaltra-Ubotica collaboration on machine-learning failure detection for satellites and launchers seems to fit the requirements of the European giants here.

Much of the technology required is dual-use. The same AI models and analytics platforms work for climate monitoring, fisheries protection, and disaster response as they do for military applications. Irish firms can participate without straying from their civilian positioning.

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“We have record subscriptions, and for the first time, ESA has received exactly what we asked for. This is unique!” - European Space Agency chief Josef Aschbacher at the end of an extraordinary ministerial meeting in Bremen.

“Irish companies have demonstrated extraordinary capability and ambition.” – Alan Dillon, Minister of State, as Ireland’s ESA win rate keeps climbing, with home-grown firms now embedded in launchers, materials, avionics and onboard AI.

“The teams need time to investigate before we are confident of the cause,”
SpaceX said after a booster exploded during testing, providing a reminder that the world’s biggest launch system is still very much experimental.

“Electron once again proves why it is the champion of small launch globally.” – Peter Beck, Rocket Lab CEO, after back-to-back missions from New Zealand and Virginia underline how “small launch” firms are packing a punch.

“The United States expresses deep concern regarding measures in the proposed Act that would impose unacceptable regulatory burdens on U.S. providers of space services.” - A rare public shot across the bow from Washington on how the emerging EU Space Act could redraw the rules for any company serving European customers from orbit.

"Ireland's space sector is now firmly positioned as a hub of innovation, with companies developing technologies that reach far beyond space, from AI and quantum communications to renewable energy and climate solutions." - Enterprise Ireland CEO Jenny Melia.