COST - Cost Engineering
NEWS : Centers of interest of the community RESULTS
Holding of the Space Cost Engineering Conference 2026
This conference dedicated to the specialty of our community was held at ESTEC on October 1 and 2.
The 117 participants from 39 companies and schools (including 4 space agencies) from 10 European countries shared their experience during 2 days of conference. The discussions focused on methods, standards, tools and training related to cost estimation.
The conference Group As in many fields, AI-based solutions are emerging and have given rise to presentations and discussions.
The group photo of the conference participants
Both ESA and CNES are involved in universities to promote the space sector. We took advantage of this conference to organize a “student poster challenge”. The subject: “what space project can I carry out today with a budget of €5 million”. The winner presented us with a very well-supported statistical study.
We thank the inspiring people who took turns in front of the desk to get us to think about innovative or unusual themes, such as astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, Professor Paolo Gaudenzi or Mrs. Stella Tkatchova.
At the end of the discussions, we agreed to meet in France, in the fall of 2028, for the next edition of the conference.
All presentations are archived in the “resources” tab opposite or at the bottom of this home page. The group photo and submitted student posters are also attached in separate files. It will remain available in this section until the next edition of the conference.
For information, contact M. Van PELT (ESA) or F. MOLL (CNES)
The COST engineering COMmunity OF ExperTs aims to bring French and European players in the field together in an informal and user-friendly way. With a perspective of innovation and creativity, the group aims to address the following topics:
- Methodology for estimating project costs and pre-projects
- New tools, databases and capitalization methods
- Towards new approaches: Design to Cost, feedback from industrial approaches, costs and risk taking
The group is co-animated by CNES and ESA. It regularly organizes events (working groups, visits, workshops and seminars, ...) in face-to-face and/or videoconferencing.
You will find the events already organized in the dedicated menu.
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Michel VAN PELT
ESA Head of Cost Engineering Section -
Jean Oswald
Ingéniérie des coûts et analyses économiques
