European space agency

ESA is a redirect to this article. Further meanings are listed under ESA (disambiguation) .

European Space Agency ESA / ASE
ESOC control room in Darmstadt
English name	European Space Agency
French name	Agence spatiale européenne
Seat of the organs	Paris , France
Chair	Josef Aschbacher (General Director)
Member States	22 :
Associate members	4 : Canada Latvia Lithuania Slovenia
Official and working languages	English, French, German
founding	May 30, 1975
www.esa.int
Facts and figures: Budget: € 6.7 billion (2020) Employees: around 2,300 (2019) Spaceport: Center Spatial Guyanais in Kourou Carrier systems: Ariane 5 , Vega , Soyuz

The European Space Agency ( English European Space Agency (ESA) French Agence spatiale européenne (ASE) ), based in Paris was to improve coordination of the 1975 European space activities founded and technologically over the space powers Soviet Union and United States to occur equally and not technologically and to be completely politically dependent. It has 22 member states and employed around 2,300 people in 2019.

The ESA is the successor organization to the European ELDO , ESRO and the European Telecommunications Satellite Conference (CETS). Like them, she restricts herself to “exclusively peaceful purposes” in her European projects on space exploration and use.

The ESA is not a sub-organization of the EU , but is closely interwoven through numerous collaborations with the EU and the national space agencies of its member countries. The majority of the EU countries are involved in the ESA, in addition to which Switzerland , Norway and the United Kingdom are also involved .

Together with NASA, ESA is a founding member of the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS).

Since March 1st, 2021, Josef Aschbacher has been the General Director of ESA .

history

The foundation

ESRO-2B was ESRO's first successful satellite in 1968

After World War II, many European aerospace engineers and scientists left Western Europe to work in either the United States or the Soviet Union. Although the boom in the 1950s allowed Western European countries to invest in research and space, European scientists realized that national projects could not compete with the two superpowers. As early as 1958, just a few months after the Sputnik shock , Edoardo Amaldi and Pierre Auger , two important members of the Western European scientific community, met to discuss the establishment of a joint Western European space agency. The meeting was attended by scientific representatives from eight countries.

The Western European nations decided to create two separate agencies: the ELDO ( European Launcher Development Organization ) should develop and build launch systems and the ESRO ( European Space Research Organization ) should develop the scientific satellites. ESRO was founded on March 20, 1964 by an agreement signed on June 14, 1962. ESRO celebrated its first successes between 1968 and 1972: Seven research satellites were brought into orbit with the help of American launchers. ELDO, on the other hand, was unable to launch a successful launcher during its existence. Both organizations were underfunded and the split into two organizations did not work.

The ESA was founded on May 30, 1975 with the agreement on the establishment of a European Space Agency with the signature of the agreement by the initially ten original founding members in Paris as a merger of ESRO and ELDO. After France had deposited the last instrument of ratification, the foundation came into force on October 30, 1980 in accordance with Article XXI, Paragraph 1 of the Convention.

The purpose of the establishment was a better coordination of European space activities in order to be able to act on an equal footing with the space nations Soviet Union and United States. As was previously the case with ESRO, participation in the scientific program is mandatory for all members of ESA, while other programs such as application satellites, launch vehicles or manned spaceflight only take part in countries that are interested and want to contribute to them. The ESA gives orders to the space companies of the countries participating in the programs in accordance with the membership fees for the respective programs.

The beginnings

Giotto with Halley

In the early 1970s, when the contest for space advance between the United States and the Soviet Union had subsided and the budgets of the space agencies were dramatically cut, the ESA established itself as a pioneer in peaceful space exploration.

ESA started its first major scientific mission in 1975 with the COS-B satellite . IUE was started in 1978 in cooperation with NASA and the British SERC . It was the first space telescope in Earth orbit and was in operation until September 1996.

A large number of successful projects in Earth orbit followed and in 1985 the first deep space mission began with Giotto, which examined Halley's Comet in 1986 and Comet Grigg-Skjellerup in 1992. In the following period, a large number of projects were started, some in cooperation with NASA, which are listed below. As the successor organization to ELDO, ESA also successfully continued to develop its launch vehicles for commercial and scientific payloads as part of the Ariane program.

The more recent history

ESA logo until 2019

At the beginning of the new millennium, ESA, together with space agencies such as NASA, ISRO , JAXA or Roskosmos, has become a major player in space research with projects such as the Hubble space telescope, which was launched in 1990 .

While ESA still relied on cooperation with NASA in the 1980s and 1990s, various circumstances (e.g. legal restrictions on the exchange of information, incalculable project suspensions due to sudden funding cuts) meant that newer missions were increasingly self-directed or e.g. B. be carried out in cooperation with Roskosmos or JAXA. Since 2002 ESA's own ESTRACK network has not only had worldwide tracking stations for satellite tracking and rocket launches, but also its own deep space stations for lunar missions, missions at Lagrangian points and interplanetary space missions and the technology for rocket launches and critical flight maneuvers such as pivoting into a lunar or planetary orbit. Overall, the ESA is developing into a strong organization that is based more and more on its own competencies and the bundling of the services of the member states and the various national space agencies than on contributions from space organizations outside the ESA.

Locations

Kourou (CSG) Paris (HQ) Noordwijk (ESTEC) Darmstadt (ESOC) Cologne (EAC) Oberpfaffenhofen (Col-CC) Frascati (ESRIN) Villafranca del Castillo (ESAC) Esrange (ESC) North Sea Baltic Sea Black Sea Bay of Biscay Mediterranean Sea ATLANTIC

Main facilities

ESA is organized on a decentralized basis. Most of the current locations can be traced back to facilities of the predecessor organizations.

• ESA headquarters in Paris , France
• European Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC) in Noordwijk , Netherlands

• European Space Safety and Education Center (ESEC) in Redu, Belgium
• European Space Flight Control Center (ESOC) in Darmstadt
• European Astronaut Center (European Astronaut Center) in Cologne
• Columbus Control Center (Col-CC) and one of eleven ESA Business Incubation Centers (BIC) in Oberpfaffenhofen
• European Space Research Institute (ESRIN) in Frascati near Rome in Italy
• European Space Astronomy Center (ESAC) in Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada , near Madrid in Spain
• Guiana Space Center in Kourou , French Guiana
• Esrange base for altitude and microgravity research near Kiruna , Sweden

ESA Business Incubation Centers

In May 2020, the following ESA Business Incubation Centers existed , each with a founding date:

• 2004: BIC Noordwijk , The Netherlands 
• 2005: BIC Lazio in Rome , Italy 
• 2007: BIC Hessen & Baden-Württemberg in Darmstadt , Germany 
• 2009: BIC Bavaria in Oberpfaffenhofen, Nuremberg and the district of Berchtesgadener Land , Germany 
• 2011: BIC UK in Harwell , United Kingdom 
• 2018: BIC Belgium in Redu , Geel and Mol , Belgium ; The BICs in Flanders and Wallonia , founded in 2012, merged in 2018 to form BIC Belgium 
• 2013: BIC Sud France in Aquitaine , Midi-Pyrénées and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur , France 
• 2014: BIC Barcelona , Spain 
• 2014: BIC Portugal with three locations, Portugal 
• 2015: BIC Madrid Region, Spain 
• 2015: BIC Sweden, Sweden 
• 2016: BIC Czech Republic in Prague , Czech Republic 
• 2016: BIC Austria in Graz , Austria 
• 2016: BIC Ireland, Ireland 
• 2016: BIC Switzerland in Zurich , Switzerland 
• 2017: BIC Estonia in Tallinn , Estonia 
• 2017: BIC Finland, Finland 
• 2018: BIC Nord France, France 
• 2018: BIC Hungary in Budapest , Hungary 
• 2018: BIC Norway, Norway 

ESA also has offices in the USA , Moscow and Toulouse .

Personalities

Acting Director General of ESA: Josef Aschbacher

Since the French and Germans could not agree on the management after the establishment, the Briton Roy Gibson was appointed the first Director General.

ESA Directors General

Public officials	Term of office	Country of origin
Roy Gibson	1975-1980	United Kingdom
Erik Quistgaard	1980-1984	Denmark
Reimar Lüst	1984-1990	Germany
Jean-Marie Luton	1990-1997	France
Antonio Rodotà	1997-2003	Italy
Jean-Jacques Dordain	2003-2015	France
Johann-Dietrich Woerner	2015-2021	Germany
Josef Aschbacher	since March 1, 2021	Austria

Member States and cooperation partners

ESA member states

Associate member

ECS partner countries

Cooperation agreement

ESA member states

Associate member

ECS partner countries

Cooperation agreement

Country	Accession (date of ratification)	National Space Organization
Belgium	3rd October 1978	BELSPO	Founding member
Denmark	15th September 1977	DTU space	Founding member
Germany	July 26, 1977	DLR	Founding member
Estonia	4th February 2015	ESO
Finland	January 1, 1995	Ministry of Economy and Labor
France	October 30, 1980	CNES	Founding member
Greece	March 9, 2005	HSA / HSC
Ireland	December 10, 1980	EGG
Italy	February 20, 1978	ASI	Founding member
Luxembourg	June 30, 2005	Luxinnovation
Netherlands	February 6, 1979	NSO	Founding member
Norway	December 30, 1986	NSA
Austria	December 30, 1986	FFG
Poland	19th November 2012	POLSA
Portugal	November 14, 2000	FCT
Romania	December 22, 2011	PINK
Spain	7th February 1979	INTA	Founding member
Sweden	April 6, 1976	SNSA	Founding member
Switzerland	November 19, 1976	SSO	Founding member
Czech Republic	November 12, 2008	Ministry of Transport
Hungary	February 24, 2015	HSO
United Kingdom	March 28, 1978	UKSA	Founding member
Associate members and other organizations
Canada	1st January 1979	CSA	associated member
Latvia	July 27, 2020	Ministry of Education and Science	associated member
Lithuania	May 21, 2021	LSA	associated member
Slovenia	5th july 2016	SPACE-SI	associated member
European Union	May 28, 2004
EUMETSAT

Relationship with the European Union

There is no direct connection between the European Union and the ESA; the ESA is not the EU's space agency. The ESA is an independent organization, but it maintains close links with the EU through the European Space Council and is financially supported by the EU. These relationships are regulated , among other things, by the ESA / European Commission Framework Agreement . 19 of the 22 member states of the ESA are also members of the European Union. This in turn means that some EU countries (as of 2020: 8 of 27) are not members of the ESA.

Notwithstanding this, joint actions with joint funding are carried out under the ESA long-term programs ( Ariane rockets , Hermes space shuttle , Columbus space laboratory , etc.). In the meantime, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) has Art. 179–190 as an independent policy area “Research, Technological Development and Space”. Since 2009, with the new provision of Art. 189 TFEU, the research and development policy mandate to the Union has been to work out the contours of a European space policy. In this regard, Art. 189 (3) TFEU mandates the Union to establish all useful links with the ESA.

European Cooperation States (ECS)

Since the jump between non-membership and full membership was too big for some countries, a new membership status was introduced. The countries that have this status are called European Cooperation States (ECS) . For countries with this status, the Plan for European Cooperation States (PECS) created an opportunity for closer cooperation. In the five-year plan , the participating country and ESA agree on the joint projects. A maximum of twelve months are planned for negotiations on this. The companies and agencies in these countries can then take part in tenders in order to take part in ESA projects. The participating countries can take part in almost all programs except for the Basic Technology Research Program . The tax burden is also lower than with full membership.

Participating States

Candidate country	Cooperation agreement	ECS	PECS	ESA membership possible from
Slovakia	April 28, 2010	February 16, 2015		2022
Bulgaria		April 8, 2015		2022
Cyprus	August 2009	July 6, 2016		2022

The Czech Republic was an ECS state from November 2003 to November 2008, Romania from February 2006 to January 2011, Poland from April 2007 to September 2012, Hungary from April 2003 to February 2015 and Estonia from November 2009 to February 2015. These countries are now full members .

States with a cooperation agreement

The precondition for an ECS membership is the prior signing of a cooperation agreement. This is the first step in the direction of growing cooperation between ESA and the country concerned, up to and including full membership.

The following countries have a cooperation agreement with ESA without being an ECS country:

Candidate country	Cooperation agreement
Turkey	July 2004
Ukraine	January 2008
Israel	January 2011
Malta	February 2012
Croatia	19th February 2018

Agreement with Russia

There is also a cooperation and partnership agreement between ESA and Roskosmos . The European-Russian cooperation began in 1990 with the transfer of knowledge, training of astronauts and the implementation of ESA experiments on Russian missions. So found z. B. the first spacecraft mission of an ESA astronaut took place as part of the Euromir-95 mission.

In the latest edition of the framework agreement between ESA and Roskosmos dated January 19, 2005, a partnership was agreed for the development, construction and use of launch vehicles. This includes the construction of a launch platform for Soyuz rockets at the Center Spatial Guyanais , the European spaceport in French Guiana . This has been operational since 2011.

Cooperation with national space agencies

ESA maintains close relationships with various national space agencies. So far there has already been a case-by-case collaboration for the missions. The aim, however, is the better integration and use of facilities of the national space agencies across borders, the improved reliability through the use of such facilities as a backup for ESOC and the exchange of experience from research, development and deployment. This strengthens the operational stability of the ESA facilities and in return gives the national space organizations access to ESA's resources and experience. Overall, the degree of utilization of all resources and thus cost efficiency can be improved. Various ESA facilities are operated locally together with the national space organizations.

• DLR has been with the GSOC in Oberpfaffenhofen since December 2018. DLR contributes its expertise from manned and unmanned spaceflight.
• CNES in Toulouse

France's role

• ESA is headquartered in Paris, which underscores France's leading role
• France pays the highest contribution to the ESA budget
• Strong national space agency CNES with the largest budget of any ESA space agency
• The development of the Ariane missile
• Operation of the spaceport in Kourou
• Engine development
• Development of ion drives
• Development of satellite buses

Germany's role

The diving pool at the EAC in Cologne for weightlessness training by ESA

The European Space Agency has three locations in Germany.

• The European Space Flight Control Center (ESOC) in Darmstadt has been responsible for the operation of all ESA satellites and the necessary global network of ESTRACK ground stations since 1967 .
• The European Astronaut Center (EAC) in Cologne is a competence center for the selection, training, medical care and monitoring of space travelers. It also looks after space travelers and their relatives during the preparation and implementation of the space missions.
• The Columbus Control Center (Col-CC) of the ESA supports the European Columbus laboratory as an integral part of the ISS. The Col-CC is located on the premises of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich. In this context, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) represents the interests of the Federal Republic of Germany at ESA.

Italy's role

• Italy brought its expertise in rocket and satellite development to the founding of ESA. Italy was the third nation after the United States and the Soviet Union to launch a satellite into space.
• European Space Research Institute (ESRIN) in Frascati near Rome in Italy
• Strong company in the development and production of components
• Development of the Vega light launcher
• Development and construction of Harmony as part of the ISS

Cooperations with universities

The European Space Agency set up joint research laboratories called ESA_Lab with several universities . ESA Labs exist at the following universities (as of 2019, without claim to completeness):

• Darmstadt University of Technology
• École des hautes études commerciales de Paris (HEC Paris)
• Université de recherche Paris Sciences et Lettres
• University of Central Lancashire

Council of Ministers

The highest body is the ESA Council of Ministers. Every two years it holds a ministerial conference attended by all ESA members and partners. The conference meets in a city of a member country. Future projects and their financial resources are decided and, if an application has been made, new partners and members are accepted.

In November 2012 the conference took place in Naples . funding for the Ariane 6 design studies has been approved. The meeting took place in Luxembourg on December 2, 2014. Here in particular the construction of Ariane 6 was finally decided. The Council of Ministers met in Lucerne on December 1 and 2, 2016 . Further funding for the ISS through 2024 and ExoMars has been set.

The following parts of this article appear since 2018 is out of date to be : Council of Ministers in 2018 and 2020.
Please help with to the missing information research and insert .

financing

The ESA is financed from the national budget of the member states. The shares of the individual states are based on the gross domestic product of the respective state. A distinction is made between compulsory activities in which all member states have to participate and a number of optional programs in which the individual states are free to decide whether they wish to participate or not. In contrast to the EU tendering system, according to the Geo-Return Agreement , the award of ESA contracts to the industry is based on the funding share of the associated member state. Due to the Convention for the establishment of a European Space Agency , a contract between the ESA and each member state, as with NATO or the OECD, some special legal regulations apply. Among other things, all income of the ESA and the associated employees are exempt from taxation and the social security systems of the respective member states. For this reason there is an internal tax for ESA employees. A separate health, accident and disability insurance is guaranteed for employees. In addition, a total of 2% of the annual salary is withheld, which is used to finance each employee's pension after ten years of service. If you leave the ESA with less than ten years of service, a severance payment will be made.

In order to facilitate international work, the transport of ESA goods is exempt from customs, import sales tax and other transport restrictions of the respective member state. The purchase of goods that are necessary for ESA's work is also exempt from sales tax.

Budget for ESA activities and programs (in million euros)

year	2012		2013		2014		2015		2016		2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
Member States	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of
Austria	52.2	1.8%	50.1	1.6%	50.2	1.5%	51.5	1.6%	47.6	1.3%	47.1	1.2%	47.4	1.2%	57.0	1.4%	51.2	1.0%	54.8	1.2%
Belgium	169.8	5.8%	187.7	6.0%	188.6	5.6%	189.5	5.8%	188.9	5.0%	206.0	5.5%	203.4	5.1%	191.4	4.6%	210.0	4.3%	255.8	5.6%
Czech Republic	11.5	0.4%	13.7	0.4%	13.9	0.4%	14.2	0.4%	15.6	0.4%	32.7	0.9%	32.5	0.8%	33.1	0.8%	44.7	0.9%	43.0	0.9%
Denmark	27.8	0.9%	25.7	0.8%	23.4	0.7%	26.8	0.8%	29.5	0.8%	30.5	0.8%	31.6	0.8%	31.5	0.8%	33.8	0.7%	33.0	0.7%
Estonia									0.9	0.0%	2.5	0.1%	2.6	0.1%	2.7	0.1%	3.7	0.1%	2.7	0.1%
Finland	19.4	0.7%	19.5	0.6%	19.9	0.6%	19.6	0.6%	21.6	0.6%	19.4	0.5%	19.4	0.5%	19.5	0.5%	27.4	0.6%	27.5	0.6%
France	751.4	25.6%	747.5	24.0%	754.6	22.6%	718.2	22.2%	844.5	22.6%	855.9	22.7%	961.2	24.2%	1,174.4	28.1%	1311.7	26.9%	1065.8	23.4%
Germany	713.8	24.3%	772.7	24.8%	765.7	22.9%	797.4	24.6%	872.6	23.3%	858.4	22.7%	920.7	23.1%	927.1	22.2%	981.7	20.1%	968.6	21.3%
Greece	8.6	0.3%	15.1	0.5%	14.5	0.4%	12.1	0.4%	11.9	0.3%	14.6	0.4%	10.5	0.3%	10.5	0.3%	20.6	0.4%	19.9	0.4%
Hungary									5.0	0.1%	6.2	0.2%	6.2	0.2%	5.2	0.1%	11.7	0.2%	16.8	0.4%
Ireland	15.6	0.5%	17.3	0.6%	18.4	0.6%	18.0	0.6%	23.3	0.6%	17.8	0.5%	17.4	0.4%	19.5	0.5%	24.8	0.5%	18.8	0.4%
Italy	350.5	12.0%	400.0	12.9%	350.0	10.5%	329.9	10.2%	512.0	13.7%	550.0	14.6%	470.0	11.8%	420.2	10.1%	665.8	13.7%	589.9	13.0%
Luxembourg	15.0	0.5%	15.0	0.5%	18.3	0.5%	23.0	0.7%	22.0	0.6%	22.3	0.6%	26.6	0.7%	29.9	0.7%	29.9	0.6%	46.9	1.0%
Netherlands	60.3	2.1%	79.5	2.6%	125.1	3.7%	74.7	2.3%	102.6	2.7%	72.0	1.9%	91.1	2.3%	77.7	1.9%	100.3	2.1%	87.9	1.9%
Norway	63.1	2.2%	56.3	1.8%	57.1	1.7%	59.8	1.8%	59.6	1.6%	63.5	1.7%	64.0	1.6%	64.4	1.5%	86.3	1.8%	83.2	1.8%
Poland	36.4	1.2%	28.9	0.9%	28.7	0.9%	30.0	0.9%	29.9	0.8%	34.6	0.9%	34.6	0.9%	34.6	0.8%	38.4	0.8%	39.0	0.9%
Portugal	15.8	0.5%	16.1	0.5%	16.3	0.5%	16.7	0.5%	16.0	0.4%	17.0	0.5%	18.2	0.5%	18.0	0.4%	21.0	0.4%	28.0	0.6%
Romania	7.6	0.3%	16.0	0.5%	22.5	0.7%	25.4	0.8%	26.1	0.7%	30.0	0.8%	42.6	1.1%	45.4	1.1%	34.3	0.7%	43.0	0.9%
Spain	184.0	6.3%	149.6	4.8%	139.2	4.2%	131.7	4.1%	152.0	4.1%	151.2	4.0%	204.9	5.2%	201.8	4.8%	249.5	5.1%	223.6	4.9%
Sweden	65.3	2.2%	75.0	2.4%	94.6	2.8%	80.3	2.5%	73.9	2.0%	72.3	1.9%	72.4	1.8%	74.4	1.8%	83.2	1.7%	80.0	1.8%
Switzerland	105.6	3.6%	108.3	3.5%	126.5	3.8%	134.9	4.2%	146.4	3.9%	145.1	3.8%	149.4	3.8%	158.4	3.8%	167.0	3.4%	172.6	3.8%
United Kingdom	240.0	8.2%	300.0	9.6%	270.0	8.1%	322.3	9.9%	324.8	8.7%	300.0	7.9%	334.8	8.4%	369.6	8.8%	464.3	9.5%	418.8	9.2%
Canada	18.7	0.6%	15.5	0.5%	19.5	0.6%	15.5	0.5%	13.2	0.4%	13.1	0.3%	19.7	0.5%	11.8	0.3%	28.0	0.6%	24.9	0.5%
Slovenia											3.4	0.1%	2.7	0.1%	2.4	0.1%	3.2	0.1%	3.1	0.1%
Latvia																			0.3	0.0%
Different income					222.1	6.7%	149.8	4.6%	204.4	5.5%	209.8	5.6%	194.5	4.9%	199.6	4.8%	181.3	3.7%	197.6	4.3%
Total ESA	2,932.4	100.0%	3,109.5	100.0%	3,339.3	100.0%	3,241.2	100.0%	3,740.0	100.0%	3,780.0	100.0%	3,980.0	100.0%	4,180.0	100.0%	4,870.0	100.0%	4,550.0	100.0%

Budget for programs from other institutions (in million euros)

year	2012		2013		2014		2015		2016		2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of	Million €	proportion of
European Union	867.7	77.5%	911.1	77.7%	623.9	81.8%	1,030.5	86.5%	1,324.8	87.8%	1,697.9	86.1%	1,314.9	80.9%	1,249.7	81.3%	1,536.4	84.9%	1,687.4	87.0%
EUMETSAT / ECS states	5.8	0.5%	4.6	0.4%	75.0	9.8%	122.4	10.3%	147.9	9.8%	182.7	9.3%	221.1	13.6%	187.2	12.2%	200.4	11.1%	194.7	10.0%
Different income	246.5	22.0%	256.8	21.9%	63.8	8.4%	38.8	3.3%	35.6	2.4%	90.7	4.6%	88.5	5.4%	99.5	6.5%	73.2	4.0%	57.9	3.0%
Total	1,120.0	100.0%	1,172.5	100.0%	762.7	100.0%	1,191.7	100.0%	1,510.0	100.0%	1,970.0	100.0%	1,620.0	100.0%	1,540.0	100.0%	1,810.0	100.0%	1,940.0	100.0%

Projects

The ESA operates a large number of projects. These are partly carried out in-house and partly in cooperation with other space agencies.

Launchers

An Ariane 5 ECA		An Ariane 42P

The launchers ESA called Ariane , start near the equator in Kourou ( French Guiana ). The rocket launch near the equator offers fundamental advantages over launch sites far from the equator in the northern or southern hemisphere. Due to the rotation of the earth, the rocket already has the maximum basic speed mediated on the earth's surface and requires less fuel to reach the speed required in orbit. Ariane 1 was first launched in 1979. The current generation is Ariane 5 . In addition, Ariane 6 is under construction and should be significantly cheaper than Ariane 5. The first flight is planned for 2021.

In addition, the Vega launcher , which made its maiden flight in February 2012 , was developed for smaller payloads .

Since 2011, Soyuz-2 rockets have also been able to launch from the new ELS launch pad in Kourou . This makes it the first Soyuz missile launch site outside of the CIS .

Selection process

A scientific project of the ESA (Space Science) goes through the following phases before it is realized:

• Idea generation ( Call for Ideas ): During this phase, the scientific community is asked to propose missions. These proposals are examined by peer review committees and recommendations are made as to which proposals should advance to the next phase.
• Assessment phase ( assessment phase ): Now be a maximum of four missions from the Science Program Committee selected. The respective mission team designs the payload together with ESA engineers . The aim is to show the scientific value and the technical feasibility of the mission. One of the four missions will then be selected by the Space Science Advisory Committee for the next phase.
• Definition phase : Here the costs and the schedule for the mission are to be planned. At the end of the day, the contract partner entrusted with building the instruments is selected.
• Development phase: In this phase, the program is developed and implemented together with the selected industrial partner.

activities

Ulf Merbold was the first ESA astronaut in space

The projects can be classified into several areas of activity:

• Human Space Flight and Exploration

The Columbus module of the ISS

The ISS with the ATV Johannes Kepler

The Human Spaceflight and Exploration division brings together ESA's efforts in the field of manned spaceflight . ESA does not have its own manned space program, but participates in various programs of other space agencies with its own contributions. This includes the activities related to the International Space Station and the European Astronaut Corps .

Active astronauts at ESA

astronaut	nationality	entering at	Age
Samantha Cristoforetti	Italy	May 20, 2009	44
Pedro Duque	Spain	May 15, 1992	58
Alexander Gerst	Germany	May 20, 2009	45
Andreas Mogensen	Denmark	May 20, 2009	44
Luca Parmitano	Italy	May 20, 2009	44
Timothy Peake	United Kingdom	May 20, 2009	49
Thomas Pesquet	France	May 20, 2009	43
Roberto Vittori	Italy	Aug 1, 1998	56
Matthias Maurer	Germany	Feb. 2, 2017	51

• navigation

The navigation activity area deals with the further development of satellite navigation .

• Observing the Earth

The area Observing the Earth comprises the activities of ESA in the field of Earth observation for the purpose of weather forecasts with weather satellites , the long-term satellite measurements of environmental and climatic parameters (ice thickness, Earth's magnetic field, etc.) and the monitoring of risks (volcanic eruptions and floods).

• Research and Technology

The development of basic technologies for the other areas belong to the Research and Technology area .

• Space Science (As a compulsory program, it is - the only one - compulsory for all members.)

The exploration of the solar system and beyond with probes, robots and telescopes as well as the development of the necessary tools takes place in this area. The ESA's long-term plans for this area were developed in successive framework programs. In the mid-1980s, the Horizon 2000 was initially defined, which was updated in the mid-1990s in the Horizon 2000 Plus . As part of the subsequent Cosmic Vision process, the currently valid Plan Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 was developed, with the overarching questions: What are the conditions for the formation of planets and the emergence of life? How does the solar system work? What are the basic physical laws of the universe? How did the universe come about and what is it made of?

• Telecommunications

In this sector, ESA mainly develops means of communication on earth with communication satellites .

Completed Projects

The following satellites and probes have completed their missions. You are now in a cemetery orbit , have crashed or burned up in the atmosphere .

Operating time	description	description
1975-1982	COS-B	First ESA mission, investigation of gamma radiation sources .
1977-1987	ISEE 2	Program of three spacecraft to study the interactions of the solar wind with the earth's magnetosphere . ISEE 1 and 3 were from NASA. After the primary mission, ISEE 3 was used as the ICE comet probe.
1977-2017	Meteosat 1-7	First generation European geostationary weather satellites. From Meteosat-4 onwards they were officially operational satellites.
1978-1996	IUE	Space telescope in the range of ultraviolet radiation that is absorbed by the atmosphere.
1978-1985	GEOS 2	Measurements of the earth's magnetosphere in the GEO. (Replacement satellite for GEOS 1)
1983-1986	EXOSAT	First ESA mission to examine X-ray sources .
1983-2002	ECS 1-5	ESA's first operational communication satellites, launched between 1983 and 1988. ECS 3 was lost in the event of a false start. They were operated by Eutelsat under the name Eutelsat I F-1 to F-5. Eutelsat I F-4 was the last to go out of service in 2002.
1985-1992	Giotto	ESA 's first deep space mission to Halley's Comet and Grigg-Skjellerup . Giotto first found traces of organic material on a comet.
1989-1993	Olympus	An extremely large experimental communications satellite for the time . It was a high performance television satellite working in the BSS band and conducting experiments in the Ku band and Ka band .
1989-1993	Hipparcos	Astremometric satellite, mapped around 100,000 stars with very high precision and more than a million stars with lower precision.
1990-2009	Ulysses	Probe that flew first over the solar poles . Provided knowledge about the magnetic field of the sun and the solar wind . (ESA and NASA, built in Europe)
1991-2000	ERS-1	With the first “Earth Remote Sensing” satellite, a new era of earth remote sensing began for ESA. Comprehensive data on the state of the seas, the atmosphere and land surfaces were collected using six instruments.
1992-1993	EURECA	Europe's free-flying platform was ESA's first reusable satellite and carried out microgravity experiments and much more. EURECA was launched from a space shuttle and captured by another.
1995-2011	ERS-2	Continued the work of ERS-1 to study the earth with radar , microwave and infrared sensors and also carried a new instrument for monitoring the ozone hole .
1995-1998	ISO	Space telescope in the infrared range
1997-2005	Huygens	In January 2005, the Huygens probe landed on Saturn's largest moon, Titan , photographed the surface and carried out chemical analyzes. This makes Huygens the first probe to land on a moon on another planet. (ESA's contribution to the NASA / ASI Cassini mission)
2001-2013	Artemis	Communications satellite. Should demonstrate direct connections to cell phone users on the ground, collect data from other satellites via laser beams and transmit navigation signals for EGNOS . (ESA and JAXA)
2002–2012	Envisat	The largest remote sensing satellite in the world at eight tons . Observed the earth with further developed versions of the instruments used at ERS-2 as well as with several new optical sensors.
2003-2006	SMART-1	A mission to the moon to determine the chemical composition of the surface. New technologies (for example an ion propulsion system as the main propulsion system) were also successfully tested. On September 3, 2006, the probe hit the moon as planned.
2005-2014	Venus Express	Space probe after the pattern of Mars Express , the Venus has been studied.
2005	SSETI Express	The "student satellite" was built by students and was intended to test technology for other student projects. German participation came from the universities of Stuttgart, Würzburg and Dortmund. However, the satellite failed shortly after launch.
2009-2013	Herschel	Infrared space telescope that observed the formation of stars and galaxies in the second Lagrange point . The mission ended when the liquid helium ran out.
2009-2013	Planck	Planck measured the cosmic background radiation with high accuracy at the second Lagrange point. This allows conclusions to be drawn about the Big Bang . On August 14, 2013, Planck was withdrawn from the L2 point and finally shut down on October 23, 2013.
2009-2013	GOCE	GOCE provided data on the earth's global and regional gravitational field. This has advanced research in the field of ocean circulation, the physics of the earth's interior, earth surveying and observation, and changes in sea levels.
2006-2014	COROT	COROT (Convection Rotation and Planetary Transits) was looking for exoplanets . The COROT mission was under the French leadership of CNES with ESA participation. The COROT telescope searched for gas giants (Hot Jupiters) and earth-like planets .
2008-2014	ATV	The ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) was an unmanned supply vehicle. It carried supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).
2015	IXV	The Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) was an unmanned and automatic spacecraft from ESA for researching the re-entry phases into the earth's atmosphere as well as a test platform for the technologies required for this, which can also be used in future reusable space shuttles.
2004-2016	Rosetta	The probe approached the Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet and dropped a lander in November 2014. (ESA plus lander under German-French management). On September 30, 2016, at the end of the mission, she went down on the comet as planned.
2015-2017	LISA Pathfinder	LISA Pathfinder (formerly SMART-2) was a test mission for the technologies of the LISA mission. The detection of gravitational waves, formation flights and interference measurements were tested.

Current projects

• 

  Mars Express

• 

  Cryosat-2

• 

  Model by Gaia

These projects are in the active phase in which data is being obtained.

Starting year	description	description
1990	Hubble Space Telescope	Telescope in the optical, UV and IR range (ESA and NASA)
1995	SOHO	Solar and heliosphere observatory. Has made discoveries about the interior and atmosphere of the sun and constantly monitors solar storms . (ESA and NASA, built in Europe)
1999	XMM Newtons	Space observatory with three telescopes, each equipped with 58 nested mirrors, for X-ray astronomy .
2000	Cluster II	Four satellites operated in a network. Provide a three-dimensional picture of collisions between the solar wind and the earth's magnetic field and of the associated magnetic storms in space. (ESA and NASA, built in Europe)
2001	Proba-1	A small satellite that acts largely autonomously and intelligently and yet is not expensive. Presentation of new technologies.
2002-2015	MSG	Second generation of Meteosat satellites. MSG-1 is in operation as Meteosat-8, MSG-2 as Meteosat-9, MSG-3 as Meteosat-10 . (ESA and EUMETSAT )
2002	integral	First space telescope that can observe objects in the visible, gamma-ray and X-ray range. One of the main goals is to study gamma bursts .
2003	Mars Express	First European Mars probe. In addition to a high-resolution stereo camera, it has a Fourier spectrometer to search for water resources. (ESA plus lander under British management)
2003	Double star	This mission, launched by ESA and the Chinese CNSA, is intended to investigate the effects of the sun on the climate with two satellites working together, similar to the cluster satellites.
2004	EGNOS	A project to support satellite navigation by specifying the error on position determination.
2005	Galileo	Satellite navigation system commissioned by the EU as an alternative to the Russian GLONASS or American GPS . Allows greater accuracy and availability, as well as the location of emergency transmitters.
2006-2018	METOP A, B, C	Weather satellites in polar orbit intended to replace two NOAA satellites . METOP-A started in 2006, METOP-B in 2012 and METOP-C in 2018. (ESA and EUMETSAT )
2006− ...	ARTES-11	As part of the project, a platform for small, geostationary satellites is to be developed under the name SmallGEO . "Artes" stands for "Advanced Research in Telecommunication Systems". The development is carried out by a consortium led by OHB .
2008	Columbus	The space laboratory is an ESA contribution to the International Space Station (ISS) . It was coupled to the space station in 2008 and serves as a multi-purpose laboratory for multidisciplinary research under conditions of weightlessness (space conditions).
2009	SMOS	The aim of SMOS is to create global maps of the soil water concentration and the salinity of the oceans. Above all, this would improve understanding of the water cycle and climate and storm forecasts.
2010	CryoSat-2	The Cryosat-2 satellite has an altitude radar that can measure the thickness of the polar ice sheet. The satellite is a replacement for the CryoSat, which was lost in 2005 due to a launcher failure.
2010	HYLAS	Small flexible communications satellite developed with ESA support.
2013	Alphasat I-XL	Experimental communication satellite from ESA and CNES based on the Alphabus satellite platform . Inmarsat wants to use the satellite for mobile communications in the L-band . There are four ESA experiments on board, including Transmitting facilities in the Q / V band (36–56 GHz) and laser communication with other satellites.
2013	Gaia	Astrometric survey, measures magnitudes, movement, colors and spectra of celestial objects. Gaia DR1 , Gaia DR2 and Gaia EDR3 have been released so far. Mission is extended until the end of fuel around 2025. The final catalog is expected three years after the end of the mission.
2013	SWARM	SWARM consists of three satellites that will study the dynamics of the earth's magnetic field.
2014	Sentinel-1 A	Earth observation satellite as part of Copernikus , which is supposed to make radar recordings according to the SAR principle in C-band and thus guarantee the data continuity of ERS and Envisat.
2016	ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter	Mission to explore the Martian atmosphere within the ExoMars project. In addition, a small lander (Schiaparelli) will be carried, with which landing techniques on Mars will be tested.
2016	Sentinel-1 B	Supplement to Sentinel-1A (part of Copernicus ). As a successor to ERS and Envisat, radar recordings are to be made according to the SAR principle in C-band in order to ensure data continuity for long-term research on climate impact research .
2018	ADM-Aeolus	This mission is intended to provide more precise data on atmospheric movements (wind) and thus improve forecasts with numerical weather forecast models.
2018	BepiColombo	This two-part ESA-JAXA mission, launched on October 20, 2018, is intended to map the planet Mercury and examine its magnetosphere in detail.
2019	CHEOPS	The Cheops space telescope is intended to determine the main properties of exoplanets that have already been discovered.
2020	Solar orbiter	The Solar Orbiter should come close to the sun up to 45 solar radii and deliver images of the solar atmosphere with a resolution of 100 km per pixel. The polar regions of the sun, which are not visible from the earth, should also be studied.

Projects in development

• 

  Design study of the James Webb Space Telescope

• 

  Artist's impression of JUICE on Ganymede

Projects that have passed the assessment phase and are to be implemented.

Starting year (planned)	description	description
2021	ERA	European robotic arm to be attached to the Russian module of the ISS in 2020 at the earliest.
2021	IBDM	The International Berthing and Docking Mechanism (IBDM) is being developed as a docking adapter for manned spaceships. It is to be used in the Dream Chaser for coupling to the International Space Station.
2021-2032	MTG	The third generation of the successful Meteosat satellites.
2021	JWST	The James Webb Space Telescope is being developed by NASA in collaboration with ESA as the successor to the Hubble telescope.
2022	EarthCARE	The EarthCARE mission aims to collect data on the interactions between radiation, aerosol and cloud formation processes. This enables more accurate weather and climate models. The mission is being carried out jointly with the Japanese space agency JAXA .
2022	Euclid	Euclid is supposed to measure the acceleration of the expansion of the universe in order to be able to draw conclusions about the dark energy and matter.
2022	ExoMars Rover	A Mars rover as part of the Aurora program; Funding approved in December 2005.
2022	JUICE	Mission to the moons of Jupiter Europa , Callisto and Ganymede . An orbiter that is to enter an orbit around Ganymede after two flybys of Europe and one of Callisto. European part of the Europa Jupiter System Mission / Laplace from which NASA withdrew.
2022	Biomass	To determine the biomass that is in the forests, to study the carbon cycle on earth.
2023	Hera	Mission to the asteroid (65803) Didymos
2025	ClearSpace-1	ClearSpace-1 is a planned mission to test and eventually carry out the disposal of space debris . To this end, ESA contributed CHF 90 million to the ClearSpace.today project, which is expected to cost around CHF 120 million in total. A space probe equipped with four gripper arms will first intercept a stage rocket for test purposes and cause it to burn up in the earth's atmosphere . In the long term, orbiters should capture space debris.
2026	PLATO	PLA netary T ransits and O scillations of stars (PLATO) will be a probe for the discovery and investigation of extrasolar planets with a focus on earth-like planets in the habitable zone around sun-like stars.
2028	ARIEL	With the Ariel space observatory, acronym for Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-Survey Mission, around 1,000 extrasolar planets are to be observed over a period of four years, and their atmosphere in particular will be investigated
2028	Comet Interceptor	The Comet Interceptor is to be launched together with ARIEL and parked at Lagrange point L 2 of the earth-moon system. As soon as an opportunity arises, he should fly from there to a new comet or an interstellar object and examine it.

Proposed projects

For these projects it is still unclear whether they should really be started in this form.

year	description	description
2026	Heracles	Moon lander and rover; Sample return mission to the Schrödinger crater , together with the Japanese and Canadian space agencies.
2031	ATHENA	This mission is intended to be the successor to the XMM Newton mission. It consists of two elements flying in formation, the detector and the mirror. It is supposed to go in search of the first black holes .
2034	LISA	Gravitational waves are to be detected with these detectors . For this purpose, the distance between three detectors flying in formation is precisely measured. This distance should change due to incoming gravitational waves.
	Tandem	Mission to the Saturn moons Titan and Enceladus. An orbiter space probe is proposed, which should carry a balloon and a lander with it.

Unrealized projects

year	description	description
2014	ESMO	ESMO was supposed to be a lunar probe co-developed by students.
after 2015	Darwin	Darwin would have been a telescope consisting of four (originally planned eight) individual satellites, which should find Earth-like planets and also analyze their atmosphere.
2018	XEUS	This mission would have been the successor to the XMM Newton mission. It should have consisted of two elements flying in formation, the detector and the mirror. XEUS should start looking for the first black holes . Replaced by ATHENA.

Projects with setbacks

year	description	description
1977	GEOS 1	Measurements of the earth's magnetosphere were planned in the GEO , but stranded in an elliptical orbit due to a launcher error and could only achieve part of the goals. GEOS 2 worked according to plan
1985	ECS 3	ECS 3 was lost along with another satellite when the third stage of Ariane 3 failed to ignite. A replacement has started.
1996	Cluster (satellite)	The Ariane 5 took off on its maiden flight on June 4, 1996. After exactly 36.7 seconds, the rocket blew itself up with its payload, the four cluster satellites, after it began to break apart due to the aerodynamic loads of an extreme change of course. Four replacement satellites are successfully in use.
2005	CryoSat	The Cryosat satellite was equipped with an altitude radar to measure the thickness of the polar ice sheet. However, the satellite failed to reach orbit due to a failure of the launcher. With CryoSat-2 , a replacement was successfully sent into space in 2010.

SSA program

With the Space Situational Awareness Program, ESA operates a program for monitoring space. It is intended to recognize possible dangers at an early stage and to prevent or mitigate possible damage. It has three parts:

• Monitoring of satellite orbits and space debris
• Monitoring of near-earth objects such as asteroids on their orbit through space. The data on near-earth objects are published.
• Monitoring space weather . This enables satellite operators to take countermeasures.

ESA headquarters in Paris

Application satellites

The EUMETSAT headquarters in Darmstadt

ESA develops application satellites. As a rule, after a test phase, their operation is handed over to the independent company established for the respective satellite program, as soon as it is able to do so. Examples are Eutelsat for the ECS satellites and Meteosat for the weather satellites. However, today's Eutelsat satellites (unlike the weather satellites) are no longer developed in cooperation with ESA.

public relation

From November 2010 to June 2014, ESA published the podcast series Raumzeit in cooperation with DLR . The podcast will be moderated by Tim Pritlove , a member of the DLR and ESA staff, and interviewed on the various topics and tasks involved. In addition, the so-called ESA KIDS platform has been online since May 2011 . There children and young people can find out more about the European Space Agency.

In addition, ESA employees promoted support for projects such as the " Moon Village " in several lectures at the 33rd  C3 Congress of the Chaos Computer Club in December 2016 .

See also

• European Space Council
• Arianespace

literature

• Thomas Hoerber, Paul Stephenson: European Space Policy: European integration and the final frontier. Routledge, London 2017, ISBN 978-1-138-03903-2 .
• Christophe Venet: L'Europe dans les étoiles. La relation franco-allemande dans le spatial, in: Documents - Documents. Journal for the Franco-German Dialogue, volume 3. Verlag Documents, Bonn 2012 ISSN  0012-5172 pp. 32–36 (French)
• Marcel Dickow: The EU's space policy. Civilian flagships and options for the CSDP. In: SWP Studies 2011, October 2011, p. 26 ff
• Andrew Wilson: ESA Achievements , 3rd edition. ESA Publications Division, Noordwijk 2005, ISSN  0250-1589
• ESA History Advisory Committee: A history of the European Space Agency 1958–1987 (ESA special publication 1235). European Space Agency 2001, ISBN 92-9092-536-1 , ISSN  1609-042X ( Vol. 1 (PDF; 3.2 MB), Vol. 2 ; PDF; 5.2 MB)
• Rüdiger von Preuschen: The European Space Agency, in International and Comparative Law Quarterly 27, 1978, pp. 46-60

Web links

Wiktionary: ESA  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Commons : European Space Agency  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

 Wikinews: ESA  - in the news

• Official ESA website
• Official German-speaking presence of ESA
• Official ESA YouTube account
• Convention establishing a European Space Agency (text of the contract at admin.ch )
• ESA programs that carry out (pre) studies on possible future missions
  • ESA Science Payload and Advanced Concepts Office (English)
  • ESA Advanced Concepts Team Website (English)
• Cosmic Vision: Space Science for Europe 2015–2025 (English)
• ESA files (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ European Space Agency (ed.): Convention and Rules of Procedure of the Council of the ESA . December 2010, p. 126 , Annex I, Resolution No. 8: Use of Languages, Item 2 ( esa.int [PDF; accessed January 3, 2019]).
2. ↑ ESA budget 2020 on esa.int , accessed on April 6, 2020.
3. ↑ The ESA: Facts and Figures. ESA, accessed May 29, 2021 . 
4. ↑ Council resolution OJ 2000, C 371/2
5. ^ Oppermann / Classen / Netteshein, Europarecht, 4th edition. Munich 2009, p. 637, Rn. 22
6. ↑ Josef Aschbacher is the new ESA Director General. ESA, March 1, 2021, accessed March 1, 2021 . 
7. ↑ A European Vision. In: esa.int. European Space Agency, archived from the original on August 19, 2007 ; accessed on July 20, 2016 . 
8. ^ ^{A b} The ESA Convention
9. ↑ Federal Law Gazette 1976 II p. 1861
10. ↑ Federal Law Gazette 1981 II p. 371
11. ↑ ^{a b} 30 years of ESA - Europe's space travel on the road to success , May 31, 2005, accessed on February 9, 2011.
12. ↑ ESA Business Incubation Centers
13. ↑ ESA Business Incubation Centers , accessed May 10, 2020
14. ↑ Estonia on the way to becoming the 21st ESA member country , February 9, 2015
15. ↑ ESA member states , dated August 28, 2013
16. ↑ Polish flag raised at ESA , November 19, 2012
17. ↑ Hungary becomes the 22nd ESA member country on February 24, 2015
18. ↑ Latvia becomes ESA Associate Member State. ESA, July 29, 2020, accessed on May 29, 2021 . 
19. ↑ Lithuania becomes ESA Associate Member state. ESA, May 21, 2021, accessed May 29, 2021 . 
20. ^ Slovenia signs Association Agreement. ESA, July 5, 2016, accessed May 29, 2021 . 
21. ^ ^{A b} Official Journal of the European Union (Ed.): FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT between the European Community and the European Space Agency . L 261/64, 6 August 2004 ( europa.eu [PDF]).
22. ^ Oppermann / Classen / Nettesheim, Europarecht, 4th edition. Munich 2009, p. 638, Rn. 22
23. ↑ ^{a b c d e} ESA Welcomes New Members, Deepens Ties With Other States . Parabolic Arc. April 13, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
24. ↑ ESA: Bulgaria becomes tenth ESA European Cooperating State . 3rd October 2015. 
25. ↑ ESA: Cyprus becomes 11th ESA European Cooperating State . July 12, 2016. 
26. ^ Esa.int - Israel signs Cooperation Agreement
27. ^ Esa.int - Malta signs Cooperation Agreement
28. ^ ESA: Croatia signs Cooperation Agreement . 19th February 2018. 
29. ↑ report
30. ↑ Agreement
31. ↑ Space in Europe: ESA and DLR agree on mission control cooperation. Retrieved September 28, 2020 . 
32. ↑ Joint mission. ESA, accessed August 1, 2019 . 
33. ↑ The creation of ESA_Lab @ HEC, the first ESA_Lab @ between ESA and HEC Paris. ESA, accessed August 1, 2019 . 
34. ↑ ESA and Université PSL agree plans for new ESA_Lab @ programs. ESA, accessed August 1, 2019 . 
35. ↑ Setting Up at ESA_LAB. ESA, accessed August 1, 2019 . 
36. ↑ Council of Ministers conference sets the course for ESA. November 22, 2012, accessed December 10, 2013.
37. ↑ ESA Council of Ministers Conference approves Ariane 6 program and further ISS operations. In: DLR . Retrieved July 9, 2017 . 
38. ↑ Europe's future in space travel. In: ESA. Retrieved July 9, 2017 . 
39. ^ Convention for the establishment of a European Space Agency
40. ↑ ESA: Salary and grades
41. ^ ESA: Social security and pensions
42. ↑ ESA budget 2013. Accessed on February 28, 2020 (English). 
43. ↑ ESA budget 2014. Accessed on February 28, 2020 (English). 
44. ↑ ESA Budget 2015. Accessed on February 28, 2020 (English). 
45. ↑ ESA budget 2016. Accessed on February 28, 2020 (English). 
46. ↑ ESA budget 2017. Accessed on February 28, 2020 . 
47. ↑ ESA budget 2018. Accessed February 28, 2020 . 
48. ↑ ESA Budget 2019. Accessed February 28, 2020 . 
49. ↑ ESA budget 2020. Accessed on February 28, 2020 . 
50. ↑ ESA budget 2021. Accessed March 24, 2021 (English). 
51. ↑ Источник: два спутника Galileo отправят на орбиту ракетой "Союз" . RIA Novosti, March 31, 2020 (Russian).
52. ↑ Vega. In: esa.int. European Space Agency, accessed July 20, 2016 . 
53. ^ ESA: The Selection Process of a Science Mission; August 3, 2003 ( Memento of August 3, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
54. ↑ ESA's Cosmic Vision , accessed December 27, 2018.
55. ↑ ESA Council of Ministers Conference approves ARTES-11 based on OHB Lux concept. In: ohb-system.de. OHB , December 8, 2005, archived from the original on July 14, 2014 ; Retrieved July 20, 2016 . 
56. ^ DLR - Artes 11 Conference
57. ↑ ESA - Artes 11 SmallGEO; March 13, 2013 ( Memento of March 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
58. ↑ BepiColombo Fact Sheet. Retrieved October 13, 2016 . 
59. ↑ Europe to invest in Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser cargo vehicle. SpaceNews.com, January 22, 2016, accessed December 27, 2018 . 
60. ↑ Euclid - Mapping the geometry of the dark universe. Mission Summary. In: sci.esa.int. European Space Agency, accessed July 20, 2016 . 
61. ↑ Christoph Seidler: Mission to Jupiter, Europeans want to spy out Europe , Spiegel Online on May 3, 2012 , accessed on May 3, 2012.
62. ↑ Space agency intensifies the fight against climate change. In: srf.ch. November 29, 2019, accessed December 10, 2019 . 
63. ↑ Jo Siegler: Spring cleaning in orbit - Swiss satellite is supposed to clean up space. Swiss radio and television , February 10, 2021, accessed on February 11, 2021 . 
64. ↑ ESA commissions world's first space debris removal. Retrieved December 9, 2019 . 
65. ↑ ESA's next science mission to focus on nature of exoplanets. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
66. ↑ ESA plans to use the Ariel space observatory to study extrasolar planetary systems from 2028. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
67. ^ ESA - European Space Agency. Retrieved September 5, 2019 . 
68. ↑ DLR and ESA page on the Raumzeit podcast series
69. ↑ ESA KIDS Platform , accessed March 3, 2013.
70. ↑ Contribution by Heise Online to the ESA lecture at the 33rd Chaos Communication Congress , accessed on January 13, 2017.
71. ↑ Participant in the “Program Espace” of the “Institut français des relations internationales” IFRI
72. ↑ Discussion of the EU's space policy , swp-berlin.org

Coordinates: 48 ° 50 ′ 53.2 "  N , 2 ° 18 ′ 15.8"  E