Paris Space Week opens with the kind of optimism that only exists on a conference stage, where “weeks away” means “please don’t ask about the last delay.” NASA and ESA show up as the responsible adults in an international relationship, smiling for the cameras while everyone quietly counts the ways this program can slip without technically breaking any promises.
Greg Mann’s job is to make the room feel included. He does it the old way, with mythology, nostalgia, and a “golden age” line that is bold enough to make you forget the very modern reality of rollbacks, readiness reviews, and hardware that occasionally behaves like it read the schedule and decided it was optional. Still, the April 2026 window is real, the dates are published, and the tone of the official material suggests NASA wants this to fly as badly as anyone in that room wants a stable contract pipeline.
