Agence spatiale européenne
The European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to space exploration, with 22 member states. Founded in 1975, ESA shapes Europe's space capabilities, ensuring investments in space deliver benefits to European citizens, working across the entire space sector. ESA develops and operates Earth observation, navigation, telecommunications, and astronomy satellites and sends probes to explore the solar system, partnering with agencies like NASA, JAXA and commercial partners like Airbus. Key programs include the development of launch vehicles like Ariane and Vega, the Galileo satellite navigation system, and missions like Rosetta and BepiColombo.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
The European Space Agency provided 130 million euros in financial support for SMILE.
ESA approved two Scout satellites, Hibidis and SOVA-S, each with a cost of less than €35 million ($40.7 million) and a development time of under three years.
Pablo Álvarez is an astronaut of the European Space Agency.
The European Union and the European Space Agency co-fund the Copernicus program.
An ESA astronaut is three months into the Epsilon mission aboard the International Space Station.
The memorandum aligns Spain’s secure connectivity framework with ESA’s Resilience, Navigation, and Connectivity Directorate.
The European Space Agency has cofinanced GMV’s interference-analysis project through the Artes program.
Two Teledyne Space Imaging CCD370 imaging sensors have launched aboard the European Space Agency’s SMILE mission.
ESA and the Spanish Space Agency will co-manage technical oversight pathways for Spanish aerospace firms to capture infrastructure contracts within the SpaceRISE consortium.
Spain’s contribution to ESA has expanded by more than 50 percent in recent years.
The European Space Agency and the Spanish Space Agency signed a formal Memorandum of Intent on May 20, 2026 to deepen technical cooperation and expand industrial activities focused on secure satellite connectivity.
Avio successfully launched Vega-C VV29 with the joint ESA-CAS SMILE mission.
SMILE is a joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Spain, Portugal, and the European Space Agency are cooperating on the Atlantic Constellation program.
ESA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences launched the SMILE mission on May 19, 2026.
SMILE’s Soft X-ray Imager was developed and procured by ESA.
SXI is an ESA soft X-ray imaging camera designed to capture the first X-ray images of the region where the solar wind collides with Earth's magnetic field.
ESA is contributing €130 million to Smile through more than 25 procurement contracts involving over 40 companies and institutes.
Smile builds on technologies used in ESA missions Cluster and XMM-Newton.
Smile is the first mission that ESA and China have jointly selected, designed, implemented, launched, and operated together.